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WINTER IS FAST approaching but there is still the occasional fine day here and there to get out to
experience one of Ireland’s many fantastic heritage sites.
Here are three more suggestions in counties Limerick, Galway and Kerry. If you have a suggestion for a great site to visit please do leave a comment below.
Lough Gur, Co Limerick
Lough Gur in County Limerick is one of the most important and remarkable archaeological landscapes in Ireland. This small, horseshoe-shaped lake has been surrounded by human settlements and activity going back over 5,000 years ago during the Neolithic period.
This was a time of Ireland’s first farmers, people who began the back-breaking labour of clearing the vast forests that covered Ireland. The climate was a little warmer and drier than it is now and ideal for cereal cultivation.
Lough Gur is possibly most famous for its Neolithic settlement. Several houses, forming a small village, have been excavated on the south-facing slopes of the Knockadoon peninsula, which extends out into the lake. Both rectangular and circular houses were discovered.
People built these houses over 5,000 years ago by driving double rows of wooden posts into the ground. These posts supported a hipped roof and screens made from woven hazel rods known as wattle. The screens were covered in daub, a mix of dung, clay and straw which when dried, would have been an effective breathable, but water and draft-proof, wall. The houses may have been insulated with a layer of earth sods, reeds or straw.
An example of one of the rectangular buildings and a circular building have been reconstructed and now serve as Lough Gur’s Heritage Centre.
The Centre itself is very well laid out, with great information on the archaeology, history and folklore of Lough Gur. It has a number of superb reproductions of the incredible artefacts discovered in the area, and has informative interactive panels and exhibits making it fun for all ages. The visitor centre is an essential introduction to the complexity of archaeology in the region.
From the Centre, you can follow a looped walk to visit some of the archaeological sites in the area. Your first stop is ‘The Spectacles’ where you can see the foundations of a number of buildings and field systems dating to the early medieval period. As you follow the path beyond the Spectacles, you climb ever higher and get spectacular views over Lough Gur. From here you can see the landscape that has drawn people to the shores of this small lake for thousands of years.
When you have finished your visit to Lough Gur itself, a short drive up the road will bring you to the cashels of Carraig Áille (pictured above). These well-preserved early medieval stone ringforts have quite spectacular views, and are well worth the short climb up a hill.
Another short drive from Carraig Áille and you can find a wonderful example of an Early Bronze Age wedge tomb, similar (though smaller) to that of Labbacallee in County Cork.
The Lough Gur wedge tomb (pictured above) was excavated in 1938, and artefacts such as prehistoric pottery, flint and human remains were discovered. Wedge tombs generally date to the very late Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age period. Over 500 wedge tombs have been recorded in Ireland so far, making them the most numerous of Ireland’s megalithic tomb types.
Our next stop again just minutes along the road was the church ‘Teampall Nua’. This church is thought to date to the seventeenth century (though some architectural features look more medieval to me). It replaced an older chapel used by the Earls of Desmond.
Our final stop was Grange Stone Circle located just on the west of the lake and very easily accessible from the Limerick–Killmallock Road (R512). This stone circle is just incredible: it is massive, measuring nearly 50m in diameter. It is a near-perfect ring of 113 contiguous stones (all the stones are touching).
The entrance is marked with the tallest stones that are mirrored on the opposite side of the circle, apparently forming an alignment with the midsummer moon.
As an archaeologist I found the visit to Lough Gur to be almost like a pilgrimage. It is such a beautiful part of the country, and our visit barely scratched the surface of the sheer wealth of archaeological and historical sites clustered around the lake. A visit to Lough Gur is an absolute must for anyone with an interest in archaeology and history! You can find more information on Lough Gur from their website.
Clonfert Cathedral, Co Galway
Clonfert Cathedral in Co Galway is probably best known for its amazing doorway, the finest example of Romanesque architecture in Ireland. The Romanesque style of architecture was influenced by classical Roman and Byzantine architecture, and generally dates to the early medieval period, some time between the 8th – 11th Centuries AD across the continent.
It appears a little later in Ireland, and seems to coincide with large scale reforms of the Irish church in the twelfth century. The Irish builders incorporated their own styles with Romanesque to create a hybrid of the two, which is known as Hiberno-Romanesque architecture.
The doorway at Clonfert is in six ‘orders’ and has inclined jambs. Above the doorway, a steep triangular pediment is covered with Romanesque decoration showing animal heads, foliage, zig-zags, chevrons, but most striking of all are the individually carved human heads.
However, the Romanesque doorway was a late addition onto a church that was already famous in Ireland. It is referred to in the annals before 1050 as one of the four largest churches in the country (Annals of the Four Masters, Annals of Inishfallen, Chronicon Scotorum).
Clonfert is associated with Saint Brendan, he is said to have founded a monastery here in the sixth century. Brendan is known as The Navigator, and is one of the most famous of Ireland’s monastic saints. A ninth century book The Voyage of Saint Brendan the Navigator records his legendary journey to ‘The Isle of the Blessed’, a journey that involves sea monsters, strange islands and their inhabitants and that some people even believe to suggest that Brendan was the first European to discover America!
There are no remains of Brendan’s monastic site visible at Clonfert, though a gravestone in the churchyard marks the spot where he is allegedly buried.
As you pass through the doorway into the cathedral you may notice that the innermost part of the doorway is a later medieval (around the fifteenth century) addition, carved of grey limestone in contrast to the sandstone of the flamboyant Romanesque door. Much of the fine carvings and archway in the interior are also of fifteenth century date, and see if you can find a charming carving of a mermaid dating to this period too. She is similar to that at nearby Clontuskert.
Clonfert is certainly worth a visit to see the spectacular Romanesque doorway and the wealth of later fifteenth century sculpture inside. The graveyard was damaged recently by a freak tornado, though the cathedral itself remained undamaged.
You’ll find the site around 15km south-east of Ballinasloe, when you get to Laurencetown it is signposted down a minor road to the east off the R355 (Ballinasloe – Portumna Road) at coordinates 53.240651, -8.058621. You can find more information about Clonfert from their website.
Loher Fort, Co Kerry
Loher Fort is an early medieval defensive farmstead that is beautifully positioned overlooking Ballinaskelligs Bay in County Kerry. It was probably the home of a local chieftain some time from the ninth – eleventh century.
The reconstructed circular drystone wall that surrounds the fort stands around two metres high with steps that lead to a wide rampart. In the interior of the enclosure you can find the foundations of two structures – one rectangular and one circular, presumably houses. When the site was excavated it was discovered that these stone buildings were later additions to the site, and replaced earlier wooden houses.
Within the circular structure archaeologists discovered the remains of a souterrain. These underground passageways typically date to the tenth or eleventh century, and there are a number of theories about what they were used for. Often people believe that they were used as refuges during raids, with the narrow passageway being difficult to assault and forcing any attackers to advance one at a time.
Alternatively they have been interpreted as an early form of a refrigerator or cellar, as they would maintain a constant cool temperature ideal for keeping the all important dairy products fresh. Unfortunately the souterrain at Loher Fort is now covered over and inaccessible, but the site itself is well worth a trip for its stunning views and atmosphere.
It is easy to find, follow the Ring of Kerry road N70 south of Waterville for about 5mins or so and you’ll see it signposted to the right. This is a narrow road and it goes on for around 10 mins, stick with it and you’ll see a decent carpark on your right and the fort below you. The co-ordinates are 51.78605509 -10.165658.
The Ring of Kerry is a beautiful place with a number of fantastic historical sites to visit, be sure to add Loher to your list of stops if you plan to visit the area!
If you’d like to keep up with daily images and information about Ireland’s fantastic heritage sites please consider following Neil’s company Abarta Audioguides on Facebook , Twitter, Instagram or Google+.
If you’d like to support Neil please consider downloading an audioguide from abartaheritage.ie: they are packed with great facts, information, stories and legends from Ireland’s iconic sites. They are designed to be fun and informative whether you are visiting the sites or from the comfort of your own home, so if you are looking to escape to the Court of Brian Boru the next time you are doing household chores, download one of our guides and let Abarta whisk you off to ancient Ireland!
All images © Neil Jackman/abartaheritage.ie
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Secondary level students Union?
Elected by who??
Survey result ‘dogs like sausages’ who would have guessed
There’s student going into 3rd year of college who have never sat a proper exam it’s mental
@Euro McPúnty: and yet the world keeps turning and these students keep achieving,
Accredited Grades didn’t work. And the teachers doing some form of Continual Assessment is a recipe for disaster.
The Leaving Certificate needs a major overhaul. Today’s society has a lot of knowledge at its tips. Their is a need to look at the model adopted by third level educational institutions. There is a need to adapted the Leaving Certificate curriculum to take in subjects that allows students to use their critical thinking, emotional intelligence and social skills.
Now is the time and the opportunity to modernise our state exams, to step away from rogue learning.
@Padraic Morgan: pesky ‘rogue’ learning. An element driving the out-dated model however is society itself, there is this drive that everyone needs to undertake a university degree programme straight out of the leaving cert. An approach that neglects other modes of 3rd level education, apprenticeships, life-long learning, and engaging with 3rd level later in life. If we collectively stopped viewing a degree as the only option we might end up with a more acceptable approach to learning.
@D. Memery: I would argue that it’s employers that need to change their views on degrees. Supply and demand like anything else. Of course there are some professions that requir in depth understanding of certain topics but a lot of people are hired on a degree only to be taught their profession on the job anyway.
There is need for flexibility in modern education but it needs to be well thought through and not rushed in. How do you maintain the standards and stop Lucinda from offering the Holiday home in Kerry to her teacher friend if she gives the daughter a good grade for continual assessment.? There has to be the same standard for everybody 500 points in leash can’t be different than 500 points in Donegal and these things take time to put in place. The students are just scared because they have never done a junior cert and are afraid of the formal exam.
@Anne Marie Kearney: junior cert whilst scary is not as important as the leaving cert students and I feel this year they should be given the option same as last year. Going forward maybe return to the original method but I feel this needs an overhaul anyway. My daughter is LC and has lost a lot, lack of teacher continuity etc. Very stressful for them.
In this day and age the customer is the student / parent. Customers are telling you they no longer want your outdated model – you tell them it’s what you prefer to offer them !!! I’ve heard so much about being flexible and pivoting in the last couple of years – but that seems to only apply when you’re the customer or staff … it’s clear where the blockers for progress and aversion to improvement lies.
@dottiemac: The customer is not always right. There’s a plqce for the customer’s voice but it should not override those with actual expertise and qualifications. It’s a bit like car owners telling a mechanic how a car should be fixed or a patient telling a doctor how they should be treated.
How about using the same reduced style papers as last year? More choice to compensate for loss of teaching time through school closure and lots of illness this year. Currently there are only minor modifications to papers and that is not sufficient.
Here me go again, media banging on about the Leaving Cert, one would think everything in life depends on it.
Anyone that believes that colleges are driven by a desire for equity and the welfare of students education is deluded . Cash is king
People say exam system is too rigid. Girls were awarded 8 extra points so outperforming boys by an even higher margin when teachers graded pupils. Ps what if it had been that boys scores gravitated closer to girls scores
We would have never heard the end of it sexism mysogeny black Black bla
I get that last year was messy and grades we’re inflated, but unless we capitalize on teachers grading students in some shape or form we will always have this pints race Leaving Cert. The unions and universities have a lot to answer for in terms of our teens mental health.
@Lucy Legacy: I wish there was a pints race when I did my Leaving Cert. That would have been epic!
@Lucy Legacy: On a more serious note, there was much more stress involved in the LC 20 or so years ago. There were less courses and less pathways at 3rd Level and bar the orals, everything rode on the final exam making it much more high stakes. Could it be that teenagers were more resilient then than now and if so, why?
@Elrond Rivendell: me too :). I might have won that one.
@Elrond Rivendell: It’s true that Further Education is opening doors in alternative ways. Good also that it’s on the CAO. The points race has been going on since the 90s, and we know it’s wrong.I think it’s an abuse of sorts and shocking that despite It been deemed a ‘violence’ on kids by recent UN report,little has changed. It’s not the same in most other countries- mostly because the teacher marks most of it as continuous assessment.Much fairer.
@Elrond Rivendell: The old point to point race,horses for courses etc.
@Lucy Legacy: girls grades were inflated mostly if I’m not wrong.
Why bother. These days you pay for your degree and get it, just like any other purchase. Standards aren’t an issue. If you can afford to finance a degree then it’s yours.
So what they’re actually saying is that there’s a serious shortage of places for college courses relative to demand, and they’d rather simply make students feel that they can’t get in because they’re not smart enough rather than address the shortage of places itself?
RTE news : Major increase in number of top grades in Leaving Cert
http://www.rte.ie/news/education/2022/0123/1275360-leaving-cert/
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