Creggankeel Fort is a stone fort and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located on the island of

Inisheer Inisheer ( ga, Inis Oírr , or ) is the smallest and most easterly of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With 281 residents as of the 2016 census, it is second-most populous of the Arans. Caomhán of Inishe ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It also contains a later Christian site, the Grave of the Seven Daughters.

Location

Creggankeel Fort is located in the eastern part of Inisheer, overlooking An Loch Mór (the Great Lake, the only freshwater on the island).

History

The name Creggankeel derives from the Irish ''creagáin chaoil'', "narrow stony place." Stone forts ("cashels") of this type were mostly built in Ireland after the 1st century BC. The walls were reused in the 15th century as part of the outer walls of O'Brien's Castle. The Grave of the Seven Daughters (''Cill na Seacht nIníon''), also called ''An Chill Bheannaithe'' (the blessed graveyard) is an early Christian site associated with the female saint

Moninne Saint Moninne or Modwenna of Killeavy was one of Ireland's early female saints. After instruction in the religious life, she founded a community, initially consisting of eight virgins and a widow with a baby, at Slieve Gullion, in what became Co ...

. It was established around the 5th or 6th century AD.

Description

The fort is formed from two square

drystone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction me ...

walls with a cross inscribed onto a pillar-stone. The Grave of the Seven Daughters is the incomplete circuit of a cashel; there are sleeping niches in the walls reminiscent of the

Roman catacombs The Catacombs of Rome ( it, Catacombe di Roma) are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around Rome, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either i ...

. The foundations of other buildings are also evident. Nearby is a structure similar to one seen at

Cashelmore Cashelmore, also called Clogher Stone Fort, is a stone ringfort (cashel) and National Monument located in County Sligo, Ireland. Location Cashelmore is located 1.6 km (1 mile) southwest of Monasteraden, to the west of Lough Gara. History Ca ...

(Clogher), County Sligo.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in County Galway National monuments in County Galway Aran Islands Forts in Ireland