Inis Cealtra, also known in English as Inishcaltra or Holy Island, is an island off the western shore of Lough Derg in Ireland. Now uninhabited, it was once a

monastic settlement Monastic settlements are areas built up in and around the development of monasteries with the spread of Christianity. To understand Christian monastic settlements, we must understand a brief history of Christian monasticism. Monasticism was a moveme ...

. It has an

Irish round tower Irish round towers ( ga, Cloigtheach (singular), (plural); literally 'bell house') are early mediaeval stone towers of a type found mainly in Ireland, with two in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man. As their name indicates, they were origin ...

, and the ruins of several small churches, as well as four

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

es and a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

. Despite the lack of population, the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

on this island is still in use. Coffins and mourners are transported the short distance from

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

in small boats. Boat trips can be taken from the harbour at

Mountshannon Mountshannon (, historically anglicised as ''Ballybolan'') is a village in east County Clare, Ireland. It is part of the Catholic parish Mountshannon-Whitegate. The village is on the western shore of Lough Derg, north of Killaloe. Mountshannon ...

. It is conserved by the East Clare Heritage Centre.

History

Around 520 AD, St. Colum (d. 548) founded a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

on Inis Cealtra. It formerly belonged to the Cenél Donnghaile in the territory of the Ó Grádaigh. The second monastery, a famous school of learning, was founded by St. Caimin (d. 653), who was Bishop-Abbot of Inis Cealtra and possibly the first

Bishop of Killaloe The Bishop of Killaloe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bish ...

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

visited the island in 836; led by

Turgesius Turgesius (died 845) (also called Turgeis, Tuirgeis, Turges, and Thorgest) was a Viking chief active in Ireland during the 9th century. Turgesius Island, the principal island on Lough Lene, is named after him. It is not at all clear whether the nam ...

, they killed many of the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s. A further Viking attack led by

Tomrair Tomrair (died 848) was a ninth-century Viking active in Ireland. He is one of the first Vikings recorded by Irish sources. Tomrair is reported to have been killed at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain, a conflict in which twelve hundred Vikings were ...

took place in 922. Marcán, brother of

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...

, was Bishop-Abbot of

Tuamgraney Tuamgraney (; archaically spelled ''Tomgraney, Tomgrenei''; ) is a village in eastern County Clare in the west of Ireland and a civil parish by the same name. Situated a kilometre from the River Graney which flows into Lough Derg, it is an anci ...

and later Inis Cealtra until his death in 1003. The religious buildings of Inis Cealtra were not occupied after the reformation. Until 1849, the island was part of County Clare, even though the adjoining shore of the mainland was in County Galway. In 1849, the island was transferred to Galway as part of

Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinati ...

, which was mandated to eliminate detached portions of counties. However, in 1899, the

district electoral division An electoral division (ED, ) is a legally defined administrative area in the Republic of Ireland, generally comprising multiple townlands, and formerly a subdivision of urban and rural districts. Until 1996, EDs were known as district electora ...

containing both the island and adjoining mainland was transferred from Galway to Clare under the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...

Ecclesiastic ruins

There are several ruins on the island. The pilgrim’s path is a low curved earthwork between St. Caimin's Church and St. Michael's church. The small Romanesque Baptism Church is enclosed by a stone wall. The doorway is an

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

of three orders. The church was blown down in severe winds during 1839 and was later rebuilt as a house and as an ironworks. St. Caimin’s Church is the only roofed building, part of it dating back to the 10th century. In the 12th century, a Romanesque doorway was created in the western wall. In 1879 it was reconstructed as an arch of three orders. In 1978 that doorway was taken down. In 1981 it was rebuilt in an arch of four rather than three orders. Inside the church, there are crosses, monuments, gravestones and a sundial. St. Mary's Church ruins are from the 13th century. Inside there are graves and an O'Brien tomb. St. Michael’s Church is the name given to the remains of a small building which appears to have been a church. Old

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

maps mark it as "Garaidh Mhichaeil" (Michael's garden) it was most likely a

cillín A cillín (plural cilliní) are historic burial sites in Ireland, primarily used for stillborn and unbaptized infants. These burial areas were also used for the recently deceased who were not allowed in consecrated churchyards, including the men ...

, a burial ground for unbaptised children. The Round Tower was surveyed by Dr. Liam de Paor and restoration was carried out between 1970 and 1980. The round tower's cone-cap was not found implying that the tower was never finished. This fits in with the legend that a beautiful witch distracted the stonemason. The entrance to the Saints' Graveyard is through the 19th-century graveyard. The 11th-century markers are inscribed in Irish. The confessional, pre 11th century, whose original use is unknown is situated outside the walls of the graveyard. It was used as a confessional during the 18th and 19th centuries and was rebuilt in the renovations of 1979. There are five known

Bullaun A bullaun ( ga, bullán; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is high ...

stones on the island.

People

* Saint Donatus of Fiesole, teacher, poet, and

Bishop of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole ( la, Dioecesis Fesulana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was created a ...

was educated at Inis Cealtra. *St. Caimin's Church and the round tower are attributed to

*The wife of

Toirdelbach Ua Briain Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain (old spelling: Toirdelbach Ua Briain), anglicised ''Turlough O'Brien'' (100914 July 1086), was King of Munster and effectively High King of Ireland. A grandson of Brian Bóruma, Toirdelbach was the son of Tadc mac Briain ...

was buried here in 1076. *The poet and Nobel Laureate

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

(1865-1939), who lived for a while not far away in the restored Norman Castle of

Thoor Ballylee Thoor Ballylee Castle (Irish ''Túr Bhaile Uí Laí'') is a fortified, 15th-century Anglo-Norman tower house built by the septs de Burgo, or Burke, near the town of Gort in County Galway, Ireland. It is also known as ''Yeats' Tower'' because it ...

, wrote about Inis Cealtra and Lough Derg in his ballad ''The Pilgrim''

Annalistic references

See

Annals of Inisfallen Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

''AI922.2 Tomrair son of Elgi, a Jarl of the foreigners, on Luimnech (the Lower Shannon), and he proceeded and plundered Inis Celtra and Muicinis, and burned Cluain Moccu Nóis; and he went on Loch Rí and plundered all its islands, and he ravaged

Mide Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all of ...

.''

References

Sources

Annals of the kingdom of Ireland

Saint Caimin - Irish Biography

Other projects

{{Authority control Church ruins in Ireland Uninhabited islands of Ireland Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Islands of County Clare Lake islands of Ireland Former churches in the Republic of Ireland