1.
County Londonderry
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County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,074 km² and has a population of about 247,132 and it is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, as well as part of the historic province of Ulster. Since 1981, it has one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority. The county flower is the Purple Saxifrage, the place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire, meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Londonderry generally preferred by unionists, british authorities use the name Londonderry, while Derry is used by the Republic of Ireland. Mountsandel located near Coleraine in County Londonderry is perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland, at an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by the OCahans, who were tributary to the ONeills. This county was named Londonderry, a combination of London and Derry, the Irish Society was made up of the twelve main livery companies of London, which themselves were composed of various guilds. Whilst The Irish Society as a whole was given possession of the city of Londonderry and Coleraine, the county town of County Londonderry, and seat of the Londonderry County Council until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town of Coleraine. The highest point in the county is the summit of Sawel Mountain on the border with County Tyrone, Sawel is part of the Sperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. In the centre of the county are the deciduous forests at Banagher and Ness Wood. These councils were, Derry City Council, Limavady Borough Council, and Magherafelt District Council, most of Coleraine Borough Council, the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway continued as a private bus company based in the city but operating predominantly in County Donegal until it closed in 2014. Bus services are now provided by Ulsterbus, two major centres of the University of Ulster are in the county, including its headquarters at Coleraine and the Magee Campus in Derry. The Derry teams wear the red and white. There are many teams competing in up to five leagues. The county team has won one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and five National League titles, hurling is also widely played but is not as popular as football. However, the county team is regarded as one of the top hurling sides in Ulster. The Northern Ireland Milk Cup was established in 1983 and is regarded as one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe and the world. In rugby union, the county is represented at senior level by Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club, Magherafelt who compete in the Ulster Senior League and All Ireland Division Three
2.
HSC Manannan
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HSC Manannan is a 96-metre wave-piercing high-speed catamaran car ferry built in Tasmania in 1998. After commercial service in Australia and New Zealand, she was chartered to the US Military as USS Joint Venture, now owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, she mainly provides a seasonal service between Douglas and Liverpool. Manannan is one of six 96-metre catamarans built by Incat of Tasmania, Australia and she was built as Incat 050 in 1998. Under the name Devil Cat, she operated for a period as a commercial ferry for TT-Line. A spell followed crossing the Cook Strait as Top Cat, then she was acquired by the US Navy and converted for military purposes. In 2001, she was commissioned as USS Joint Venture, serving for five years with the United States Armed Forces, a flight deck was added to accommodate various helicopters in the US Navy arsenal. In 2003, Joint Venture was assigned to Operation Enduring Freedom in the Horn of Africa, at the end of the five year charter, she was handed back to Incat in early 2006. She underwent a refit and was painted in the livery of Express Ferries, plans for her to enter service as a car and passenger ferry never materialised. On 19 May 2008, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company announced the purchase of the wave-piercing catamaran for £20 million, as the replacement for the fast craft Viking. Because of its previous use, the company said it had significantly fewer hours of service than a vessel of comparable age and was suited for the planned service. She completed the 11,868 miles mile voyage from Hobart to Portsmouth, with most of the materials for her refit, a £3 million refit, carried out by Burgess Marine in Portsmouth, provided a new aft accommodation module and the Sky Lounge. The heavy military ramp was replaced with a new stern door, following this, she arrived in Douglas on 11 May 2009. An open day took place at each of the Companys ports and at a ceremony, she was renamed after Manannán mac Lir. Manannan made her maiden voyage with the Steam Packet Company on Friday 22 May 2009 on the 07,30 sailing from Douglas to Liverpool. - by late March 2015, the number of motorcycles booked for the TT Festival was up 10% on the previous year, at 96 metres, Manannan is the largest vessel of its kind on the Irish Sea. In summer season, she operates daily sailings from Douglas to Liverpool, during the winter, Manannan remains in Douglas on reserve and sails to Liverpool to have her annual overhaul before returning for the summer season. The Manannans passenger facilities are located two decks. Express also suffered damage while in Manx waters and P&O were forced to cancel a number of their own sailings as a result
3.
Broighter Gold
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The hoard includes a 7-inch-long gold boat, a gold torc and bowl and some other jewellery. A design from the hoard has been used as an image on the 1996 issue of the Northern Ireland British one-pound coins, the Broighter Collar and Broighter Ship also featured on definitive postage stamps of Ireland from 1990–1995. The National Museum of Ireland, who now hold the hoard, replicas of the collection are kept at the Ulster Museum in Belfast. The hoard was found near Lough Foyle in a field in the townland of Broighter 2 km northwest of Limavady in County Londonderry and it was discovered by Thomas Nicholl and James Morrow while working as ploughmen for Joseph L. Gibson in February 1896. They found the hoard whilst double ploughing and that means that one plough would follow the other to gain extra depth. It was estimated that the finds were buried 14 inches deep and were in proximity to each other. The find was taken to the farm where Maggie washed the items in a sink, at that time they did not realise they were made from gold. The hoard was sold to the British Museum for six hundred pounds. It consisted of a ship, complete with fittings and oars. The find was described as a lump of mud when initially shown, moreover, the boat had been so badly damaged by the plough that it took a goldsmith to later work out its structure. Part of the boat, a thwart, was found a few days later, the gold in the hoard all has the same metallurgical character, despite the diverse styles of the pieces. Some appear to be imported, while others may be reworked or entirely remade, the boat is a unique find that was measured at 7.25 inches by 3 inches and weighed 3 ounces. It had benches, rowlocks, two rows of nine oars and a rudder for steering. It also included tools for grappling, three forks, a yardarm and a spear, the tools are of much lighter design than the ships hull and are shown in the illustration. The boat suggests that the hoard was a deposit to the Celtic sea god Manannán mac Lir. The other remarkable item was the torc or collar which is 7.5 inches in diameter with buffer terminals, using a mortice, the hollow tube that made up the ring is 1.125 inches in diameter. The hinge is no longer there but it would have required to put on the collar. The fastening consists of a T piece which fits into a slot as the torc is closed, a section can then be turned which captures the T and prevents it opening
4.
Votive offering
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A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are made in order to gain favor with supernatural forces. In buddhism Votive offerings as construction of stupas was a prevalent and holy practice in ancient india which can be observed in ruins of vikramshila university, the modern construction practice called topping out can be considered as an example of a votive practice that has very ancient roots. In Europe, votive deposits are known from as early as the Neolithic, with polished axe hoards, high status artifacts such as armor and weaponry, fertility and cult symbols, coins, various treasures and animals were common offerings in antiquity. The votive offerings were sacrificed and buried or more commonly cast into bodies of water or peat bogs, in certain cases entire ships have been sacrificed, as in the Danish bog Nydam Mose. Often all the objects in a ritual hoard are broken, possibly killing the objects to put even further beyond utilitarian use before deposition. The purposeful discarding of valuable items such as swords and spearheads is thought to have had ritual overtones, the items have since been discovered in rivers, lakes and present or former wetlands by construction workers, peat diggers, metal-detectorists, members of the public and archaeologists. In Mesoamerica, votive deposits have been recovered from the Olmec site of El Manati, in archaeology, votive deposits differ from hoards in that although they may contain similar items, votive deposits were not intended for later recovery. Some archaeologists have recovered some votive offerings in ancient Sparta from the 5th century BC and these votive offerings give evidence to the presence of literacy in Spartan culture. One piece of pottery was found that may have had measurement signs on it and this would indicate an everyday literacy among the Spartans if this is true. Unfortunately, scholars have not recovered any other piece of pottery with an inscription to support that single find. The 13 Ancient Votive Stones of Pesaro were unearthed in 1737 on a local Pesaro farm in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, Italy and they are inscribed with the names of various Roman gods such as APOLLO, MAT-MATVTA, SALVS, FIDE, and IVNONII. A curse tablet or defixio is a sheet of tin or lead on which a message wishing misfortune upon someone else was inscribed. The two largest concentrations are from the springs at Aquae Sulis, where 130 examples are recorded, and at Uley. The usual form of divine invocation was through prayer, sacrifice, many unrecovered ancient votive offerings are threatened in todays world, especially those submerged in wetlands or other bodies of water. Wetlands and other aquatic sites often protect and preserve materials for thousands of years, therefore many remaining objects are in danger of oxidation and eventual rapid deterioration. The Torah makes provision for free-will offerings which may be made by any individual. These are different from votive offerings which are linked to a vow. cf Leviticus 22.23 where the Hebrew root letters for an offering are נדב
5.
Scottish mythology
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It was the belief that Beira, the Queen of Winter, had a firm hold on the country by raising storms during January and February thus preventing greenery to emerge. She was considered a tough and brutal old woman who stirred the deadly spiraling action of Corryvreckan, ushering snow, even the creation of lochs and mountains were attributed to her. Scottish mythology is not like the Greek and Roman myths as it deals with aspects of nature. In this context the most powerful and feared goddess representing winter is Beira who rules winter for its entire duration, immediately, the following season she readily concedes to Dual Lord and Lady who then enjoy equal power during the ensuing season. This myth is akin to the myth of the Mayans and deals with female power in the creation. However, Donald Mackenzie in his book Scottish Wonder Tales from Myth and Legend states that the goddesses of the Scottish myths are not glorified, Scottish mythology is dominated by goddesses, and according to Donald Mackenzie they are greater and stronger than the gods. The Celtic goddesses were authoritative and were associated with female fertility as related to female divinity, in olden times the Celtics land and national societies were both linked with the body of the goddess and her representative on earth was the queen. Another ambivalent character in Scottish myths was the hag, the Goddess, the Gaelic Cailleach, and the Giantess, the hag is also considered a healer and helpful during childbirth and is divine and said to have long ancestry and incredible longevity. She is also known as at once creator and destroyer, gentle and fierce, several origin legends for the Scots arose during the historical period, serving various purposes. One Scottish origin legend, or pseudo-historical account of the foundation of the Scottish people, as they roamed through Ireland, from Clonmacnoise, Armagh and Kildare to Cork, and finally, to Bangor, they were continually engaged at war with the Pictanei. After some time, they crossed the Irish Sea to invade Caledonia North of Roman Britain, successively capturing Iona, the latter places are echoed by the appearance of Cinnrígmonaid and Cinnbelathoir in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba. The territory so conquered was then named Scotia after Scota, the Egyptian wife of Spartan commander Nél or Niul, once the Picts adopted Gaelic culture and their actual characteristics faded out of memory, folkloric elements filled the gaps of history. In the eighteenth century the Picts were co-opted as a Germanic race, in the Celtic domains of Scotland, also known as Gaelteached, there were ancient pre-Christian structures. These are the Ulaid, or people of the North-Eastern corner of Ireland, the Ulaid had close links with Gaelic Scotland, where Cúchulainn is said to have learned the arts of war. These stories are written for the most part in prose, the centrepiece of the Ulster Cycle is the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Other important Ulster Cycle tales include The Tragic Death of Aifes only Son, Fled Bricrenn Bricrius Feast and this cycle is, in some respects, close to the mythological cycle of the rest of the Gaelic speaking world. Some characters from the latter reappear, and the sort of shape-shifting magic is much in evidence, side by side with a grim. Scottish Gaelic adaptations of Ulster Cycle tales appear in the Glenmasan manuscript, the stories of Finn mac Cumhaill and his band of soldiers the Fianna, appear to be set around the 3rd century in Gaelic Ireland and Scotland
6.
Culture of the Isle of Man
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The official language of the Isle of Man is English. Manx Gaelic has traditionally been spoken but is now considered critically endangered, the Manx Gaelic language is a Goidelic Celtic language and is one of a number of insular Celtic languages spoken in the British Isles. The Manx language is related to the Irish language and Scottish Gaelic. By the middle of the 20th century only a few native speakers remained. By then a scholarly revival had begun to spread to the populace, the first native speakers of Manx in many years have now appeared, children brought up by Manx-speaking parents. Primary immersion education in Manx is provided by the Manx government, since 2003, degrees in Manx are available from the Isle of Man College and the Centre for Manx Studies. Manx-language playgroups also exist and Manx language classes are available in island schools. In the 2001 census,1,689 out of 76,315, or 2. 2% of the population, claimed to have knowledge of Manx, in common use are the greetings moghrey mie and fastyr mie which mean good morning and good afternoon respectively. The Manx language uses afternoon in place of evening, another frequently heard Manx expression is traa dy liooar meaning time enough, and represents a stereotypical view of the Manx attitude to life. Manx English, or Anglo-Manx, is the dialect of English which is spoken by the people of the Isle of Man. It has many borrowings from Manx language, early strata of Anglo-Manx contain much of Gaelic and Norse origin, but more recent Anglo-Manx displays heavy influence from Liverpool and Lancashire in North West England. The best known recorder of the Anglo-Manx dialect was the poet, in recent years, the Anglo-Manx dialect has almost disappeared in the face of increasing immigration and cultural influence from the United Kingdom. A few words remain in use, but apart from the Manx accent, little remains of this dialect. The earliest datable text in Manx, a history of the Isle of Man from the introduction of Christianity. Christianity has been an influence on Manx literature. Religious literature was common, but surviving secular writing much rarer, the Book of Common Prayer and Bible were translated into Manx in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first Manx Bible was printed between 1771 and 1775 and is the source and standard for modern Manx orthography, the first printed work in Manx, Coyrle Sodjeh, dates from 1707, a translation of a Prayer Book catechism in English by Bishop Thomas Wilson. With the revival of Manx, new literature has appeared, including Contoyryssyn Ealish ayns Cheer ny Yindyssyn, for centuries, the islands symbol has been its ancient triskelion, a device similar to Sicilys trinacria, three bent legs, each with a spur, joined at the thigh
7.
Isle of Man
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The Isle of Man, also known simply as Mann, is a self-governing crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Northern Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann, the Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. Foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the British Government, the island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century and the Manx language, in 627, Edwin of Northumbria conquered the Isle of Man along with most of Mercia. In the 9th century, Norsemen established the Kingdom of the Isles, magnus III, King of Norway, was also known as King of Mann and the Isles between 1099 and 1103. In 1266, the became part of Scotland under the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the short form often used in English, Mann, is derived from the Manx Mannin, though sometimes the name is written as Man. The earliest recorded Manx form of the name is Manu or Mana, the Old Irish form of the name is Manau or Mano. Old Welsh records named it as Manaw, also reflected in Manaw Gododdin, the name for an ancient district in north Britain along the lower Firth of Forth. The oldest known reference to the calls it Mona, in Latin, in the 1st century CE, Pliny the Elder records it as Monapia or Monabia. Later Latin references have Mevania or Mænavia, and Eubonia or Eumonia by Irish writers and it is found in the Sagas of Icelanders as Mön. The name is cognate with the Welsh name of the island of Anglesey, Ynys Môn, usually derived from a Celtic word for mountain. The name was at least secondarily associated with that of Manannán mac Lir in Irish mythology, later, a Manannán is recorded as the first king of Mann in a Manx poem. The island was cut off from the islands around 8000 BC. The first residents were hunter gatherers and fishermen, examples of their tools are kept at the Manx Museum. There were also the local Ronaldsway and Bann cultures, during the Bronze Age, burial mounds became smaller. Bodies were put in stone-lined graves with ornamental containers, the Bronze Age burial mounds created long-lasting markers around the countryside. The ancient Romans knew of the island and called it Insula Manavia although it is whether they conquered the island
8.
Scottish Gaelic
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Scottish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic, sometimes also referred to as Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish. The 2011 census of Scotland showed that a total of 57,375 people in Scotland could speak Gaelic at that time, the census results indicate a decline of 1,275 Gaelic speakers from 2001. A total of 87,056 people in 2011 reported having some facility with Gaelic compared to 93,282 people in 2001, only about half of speakers were fully literate in the language. Nevertheless, revival efforts exist and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 has increased, Scottish Gaelic is neither an official language of the European Union nor the United Kingdom. Outside Scotland, a group of dialects collectively known as Canadian Gaelic are spoken in parts of Atlantic Canada, mainly Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In the 2011 census, there were 7,195 total speakers of Gaelic languages in Canada, with 1,365 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island where the responses mainly refer to Scottish Gaelic. About 2,320 Canadians in 2011 also claimed Gaelic languages as their mother tongue, with over 300 in Nova Scotia, aside from Scottish Gaelic, the language may also be referred to simply as Gaelic. In Scotland, the word Gaelic in reference to Scottish Gaelic specifically is pronounced, outside Ireland and Great Britain, Gaelic may refer to the Irish language. Scottish Gaelic should not be confused with Scots, the Middle English-derived language varieties which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the modern era. Prior to the 15th century, these dialects were known as Inglis by its own speakers, from the late 15th century, however, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis. Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a language from Irish. Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the 8th century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth, by 900, Pictish appears to have become extinct, completely replaced by Gaelic. An exception might be made for the Northern Isles, however, however, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation was clearly underway during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, by the 10th century, Gaelic had become the dominant language throughout northern and western Scotland, the Gaelo-Pictic Kingdom of Alba. Its spread to southern Scotland, was even and totalizing. Place name analysis suggests dense usage of Gaelic in Galloway and adjoining areas to the north and west as well as in West Lothian, less dense usage is suggested for north Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire. In south-eastern Scotland, there is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken, the area shifted from Cumbric to Old English during its long incorporation into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria
9.
County Mayo
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County Mayo is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, it is part of the province of Connacht and is named after the village of Mayo, Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 130,638 at the 2011 census, the boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time. It is bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by County Galway, the east by County Roscommon, Mayo is the third-largest of Irelands 32 counties in area and 15th largest in terms of population. It is the second-largest of Connacht’s five counties in size and population. There is a distinct difference between the west and the east of the county. The west consists largely of poor subsoils and is covered with areas of extensive Atlantic blanket bog. Agricultural land is more productive in the east than in the west. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, the County is divided into four municipal areas Castlebar, Ballina, Claremorris and West. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, the county town is at Áras an Contae in Castlebar the main population centre located in the centre of the county. For national elections half of the Claremorris Municipal District is in Galway West, murrisk south west containing Westport, Louisburgh, Croagh Patrick etc. These are followed by Westport, which has 5,543 residents and Claremorris, a survey of the terrestrial and freshwater algae of Clare Island was made between 1990 and 2005 and published in 2007. A record of Gunnera tinctoria is also noted, consultants working for the Corrib gas project have carried out extensive surveys of wildlife flora and fauna in Kilcommon Parish, Erris between 2002 and 2009. This information is published in the Corrib Gas Proposal Environmental impact statements 2009 and 2010, County Mayo has a long history and prehistory. At Belderrig on the north Mayo coast, there is evidence for Mesolithic communities around 4500 cal, BC. while throughout the county there is a wealth of archaeological remains from the Neolithic period, particularly in terms of megalithic tombs and ritual stone circles. The first people who came to Ireland – mainly to areas as the interior was heavily forested – arrived during the Middle Stone Age. Artefacts of hunter/gatherers are sometimes found in middens, rubbish pits around hearths where people would have rested and cooked over open fires. Once cliffs erode, midden-remains become exposed as blackened areas containing charred stones, bones and they are usually found a metre below the surface
10.
County Cork
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County Cork is the largest and southernmost county of Ireland. It lies in the province of Munster and is named after the city of Cork, Cork County Council is the local authority for the county. Its largest settlements are Cork City, Ballincollig and Carrigaline, in 2016, the countys population was 542,196, making it the third most populous county in Ireland. There are two local authorities whose remit collectively encompasses the area of the county and city of Cork. The county, excluding Cork city, is administered by Cork County Council, both city and county are part of the South-West Region. For standardized European statistical purposes both Cork County Council and Cork City Council rank equally as first-level local administrative units of the NUTS3 South-West Region, there are 34 such LAU1 entities in the Republic of Ireland. For elections to Dáil Éireann, the county is divided into five constituencies—Cork East, Cork North–Central, Cork North–West, Cork South–Central, together they return 19 deputies to the Dáil. The county is part of the South constituency for the purposes of European elections, for purposes other than local government, such as the formation of sporting teams, the term County Cork is often taken to include both city and county. County Cork is located in the province of Munster and it borders four other counties, Kerry to the west, Limerick to the north, Tipperary to the north-east and Waterford to the east. Cork is the largest county in the state by land area and it is the largest of Munsters 6 counties by both population and area. The population of Cork city stood at 125,622 in 2016, the population of the entire county is 542,196 making it the states second most populous county and the third most populous county on the island of Ireland. The remit of Cork County Council includes some suburbs of the city not within the area of Cork City Council, there are 24 historic baronies in the county—the most of any county in Ireland. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, there are 253 civil parishes in the county. Townlands are the smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland, there are approximately 5447 townlands in the county, the Shehy Mountains are on the border with Kerry and may be accessed from the area known as Priests Leap, near the village of Coomhola. The Galtee Mountains are located across parts of Tipperary, Limerick, the upland areas of the Ballyhoura, Boggeragh, Derrynasaggart and the Mullaghareirk Mountain ranges add to the range of habitats found in the county. Important habitats in the uplands include blanket bog, heath, glacial lakes, Cork has the 13th highest county peak in Ireland. The three great rivers, the Bandon, the Blackwater and the Lee, and their valleys dominate central Cork, habitats of the valleys and floodplains include woodlands, marshes, fens and species-rich limestone grasslands
11.
Ringfort
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Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland, there are also many in south Wales and in Cornwall, where they are called Rounds. Ringforts come in sizes and may be made of stone or earth. Earthen ringforts would have been marked by a rampart, often with a stakewall. Both stone and earthen ringforts would generally have had at least one building inside, in Irish language sources they are known by a number of names, ráth, lios, caiseal, cathair and dún. The ráth and lios was an earthen ringfort, the ráth being the enclosing bank, the caiseal and cathair was a stone ringfort. The term dún was usually used for any stronghold of importance, in Ireland, over 40,000 sites have been identified as ringforts and it is thought that at least 50,000 ringforts existed on the island. They are common throughout the country, with a density of just over one ringfort within any area of 2 km2. It is likely that many have been destroyed by farming and urbanisation, however, many hitherto unknown ringforts have been found thanks to early Ordnance Survey maps, aerial photography, and the archaeological work that has accompanied road-building. Few Cornish examples have been excavated, with the exception of Trethurgy Rounds. According to the authoritative New History of Ireland, archaeologists are agreed that the vast bulk of them are the enclosures of the well-to-do of early medieval Ireland. The a priori case for attributing some ringforts to the Later Middle Ages. is based on the absence of any other settlement form of date in those landscapes. In other words, if the Gaelic-Irish did not live in ringforts, the conjecture that ringforts can be seen to have evolved from and be part of an Iron Age tradition has been expanded by Darren Limbert. This hypothesis is based on a number of re-interpretations of the available evidence, Limbert argues instead, that the ringfort should be seen in the context of a variety of similar developments in Britain and the European Continent, particularly in Iberia and Gaul. While conceding that most ringforts were built in the Early Christian period, supports an intrusion of a Celtic warrior caste. On the island of Öland, Sweden, nineteen ringforts have been identified, including Eketorp, a site that has been completely excavated, currently, excavations are ongoing at Sandby borg, which was the site of a massacre in the 5th Century A. D. It is also possible that the Hill of Tara is a type of ringfort. From a morphological viewpoint, and probably also from the view of the contemporary person, some L Plan Castles, such as Balingarry Castle in Ireland originated as ringforts
12.
County Roscommon
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County Roscommon is a county in the western region of the Republic of Ireland. It is also part of the province of Connacht and it is the 11th largest Irish county by area and 27th most populous. Its county town and largest town is Roscommon, Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 64,065 according to the 2011 census and it is the third largest of Connacht’s five counties by size and fourth largest in terms of population. The county borders every other Connacht county - Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim, in 2008, a news report said that statistically, Roscommon has the longest life expectancy of any county on the island of Ireland. County Roscommon is named after the county town of Roscommon, Roscommon comes from the Irish Ros meaning a wooded, gentle height and Comán, the first abbot and bishop of Roscommon who founded the first monastery there in 550 AD. Roscommon is the eleventh largest of the 32 counties of Ireland by area and it has an area of 984 square miles. Lough Key in north Roscommon is noted for having thirty-two islands, the geographical centre of Ireland is located on the western shore of Lough Ree in the south of the county. Seltannasaggart which is located along the border with County Leitrim is the tallest point in County Roscommon measuring to a height of 428 m. There are nine historical baronies in County Roscommon, south Roscommon Ballymoe shared with County Galway includes Ballymoe, Creggs and Glenamaddy. Rathcroghan, near Tulsk, a complex of sites, the home of Queen Medb, was the seat of Kings of Connacht. This was the point of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, or Cattle Raid of Cooley. County Roscommon as a division has its origins in the medieval period. With the conquest and division of the Kingdom of Connacht, those districts in the east retained by King John as The Kings Cantreds covered County Roscommon and these districts were leased to the native kings of Connacht and eventually became the county. In 1585 during the Tudor re-establishment of counties under the Composition of Connacht, a well defined and original fine metal workshop was active in county Roscommon in the twelfth century. The workshop has been linked to St. Assicus of Elphin, John ODonovan, historian and scholar, visited County Roscommon in 1837. He was compiling information for the Ordnance Survey, entering St. Peters parish in Athlone in June 1837, he wrote I have now entered upon ia region totally different from Longford, and am very much pleased with the intelligence of the people. But he had problems with place-names
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