Tag Archives: Ireland

Exploring Dowth, House of Darkness, Entrance To The Otherworld

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Dowth is one of the three main tombs of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site – a landscape of prehistoric monuments including the large passage-tombs at nearby Newgrange and Knowth.

Dowth, Knowth and Newgrange are actually all part of single ancient ritual landscape, rather than separate sites.

Unlike Newgrange and Knowth, Dowth has not been independently dated and has not undergone extensive restoration.

Dowth is less developed as a tourist attraction than Knowth and Newgrange, partly because the site has been damaged by centuries of looters, plundered by Vikings, and had stones taken by quarrying. Ill-advised archeological work in the 19th century included the Royal Irish Academy dynamiting the roof, causing a large still visible crater.

Dowth is set in a spectacular location on the highest point in the Boyne Valley. Newgrange, 2 kilometers distant, is visible from Dowth.

Dowth’s mound is approximately 15 meters high and 85 meters in diameter. It one of the largest and oldest megalithic structures in Ireland, larger than Newgrange.
http://www.carrowkeel.com/sites/boyne/dowth1.html

White quartz stones found around the base of the Dowth mound indicate it may once have had a bright white exterior wall like Newgrange.

Dowth was once surrounded by 115 kerbstones. Kerbstone 51, known as the Stone of the Seven Suns, features a number of radial circular carvings. A kerbstone with cup-marks and a spiral and a flower-like design, marks the entrance to Dowth South.

Three stone-lined passages lead into the mound. There are two passage tombs, known as Dowth North and Dowth South, and a souterrain. A third entrance on Dowth’s west side of is an early Christian souterrain that leads into the passage of Dowth North. It was built during the 10th or 11th century CE.

Like the other Boyne Valley passage tombs, Dowth has a rich mythological history.

According to one legend, Dowth is the burial place of the goddess Boann. Boann was said to have created the River Boyne.

Dowth was also believed to be the entrance to the Otherworld, a magical realm that was home to the Tuatha Dé Danann, mythical gods who lived in Ireland before humans.

In legendary lore, Dowth is called the Fairy Mound of Darkness, Dubhadh (‘darkening’), and The House of Darkness.

The medieval Dindsenchas (lore of places) says that king Bresal Bó-Díbad ordered the construction of a tower in a single day to reach heaven. Bersal’s sister cast a spell, making the sun stand still so that one day lasted indefinitely. Bresal then committed incest with his sister, breaking the spell, a legend similar to one associated with Newgrange.

With the spell broken, the sun sets and the builders leave. Hence the name Dubhadh (‘darkening’).

There may be a kernel of fact in the incest myth. Recent DNA analysis of human remains of a man at found Newgrange revealed he had parents who were most likely siblings.

These tales of light and darkness have been linked with solstice alignments at Brú na Bóinne.

Dowth’s tombs have winter solstice solar alignments like Newgrange.

Martin Brennan, author of The Stars and the Stones: Ancient Art and Astronomy in discovered the alignment during a ten-year study of the Boyne Valley.

From November to February light from the evening sun reaches into the Dowth South tomb passage and into the chamber. During the winter solstice, the sun light moves along the passage, into the circular chamber, where three stones are lit up by the sun.
https://www.knowth.com/dowth-sunsets.htm

Music:
Newgrange, RDScally & the Obstweedles, from the album Entropy: The Last Word In Everything
Available on Bandcamp
https://obstweedles.bandcamp.com/track/newgrange
ASCAP: QZ-6V5-16-00148 Published by Wounded Weasel Music Copyright 2019

Clouds Obscura, RDScally & the Obstweedles, from the album Entropy: The Last Word In Everything
Available on Bandcamp https://obstweedles.bandcamp.com/track/clouds-obscura
ASCAP: QZ-6V5-16-00156 Published by Wounded Weasel Music Copyright 2019

Entropy: The Last Word In Everything
https://obstweedles.bandcamp.com/album/entropy-the-last-word-in-everything
Published by Wounded Weasel Music Copyright 2019

#Dowth #ireland #irish #irishhistory #ancientireland #countymeath #passagetomb #archeology #irisharcheology #newgrange #knowth #ireland_travel #megalithic #kerbstone #runes

The Marvels And Mysteries Of Newgrange, County Meath, Ireland

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The passage tomb at Newgrange is Ireland’s most famous megalithic monument.

Newgrange, located on hillside overlooking the River Boyne, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) west of Drogheda, is a passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC. It is older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids.

Newgrange is the main monument in the Brú na Bóinne complex, a World Heritage Site that includes the nearby passage tombs of Knowth and Dowth, as well as other henges, burial mounds and standing stones.

Newgrange consists of a large circular mound with an inner stone passageway that leads to a cruciform chamber. Burnt and unburnt human bones, and possible grave goods or votive offerings, were found in this chamber.

The mound has a retaining wall at the front, made mostly of white quartz cobblestones. It is encircled by kerbstones, with many of the stones engraved in megalithic art. The mound is also ringed by a stone circle.

Some of the material that makes up the monument came from as far as the Mournes and Wicklow Mountains.

There is no agreement about the Newgrange tomb’s purpose, but it is believed it had religious significance.

It is aligned on the winter solstice sunrise so that the rising sun shines through a ‘roofbox’ above the entrance and floods the inner chamber with sunlight.

The engineering and construction of the roofbox and tomb indicates a highly sophisticated ancient culture existed in Boyne River valley.

Archeologists disagree about the construction of the Newgrange tomb.

Irish geologist and naturalist Frank Mitchell, who studied Newgrange, suggested that it could have been built in as little as five years. His estimate was based on the likely number of local inhabitants during the Neolithic age and the amount of time they could have devoted to building it rather than farming.

Mitchell’s estimate, however, was challenged by archeologist Michael J. O’Kelly and his archaeological team, who believed that it would have taken a minimum of thirty years to build.

DNA analysis revealed that bones found in the most chamber belonged to a man whose parents were first-degree relatives, possibly brother and sister. Such inbreeding was usually only found in royal dynasties headed by ‘god-kings’, such as the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, who married among themselves to keep the royal bloodline ‘pure’. The man was distantly related to people buried in the Carrowkeel and Carrowmore tombs.

This, together with the prestige of the burial, could mean that an elite group was responsible for building Newgrange.

The largely unknown Boyne valley culture used the site for about 1,000 years. The site then feel into ruins but area remained in use by the Beaker Culture, another group that replaced the culture that built the passage tomb, into the Bronze Age.

During the Bronze Age large timber circle (or henge) was constructed to the southeast of the main mound and a smaller timber circle to the west.

Newgrange evidently continued to have some ritual significance into the Iron Age. Some of the objects deposited around the mound include two pendants made from gold Roman coins of 320–337 and Roman-era gold jewelry including two bracelets, two finger rings, and a necklace. These Roman finds are interesting since the Romans did not occupy Ireland as they did Brittan and never had a long-term presence in Ireland.

Music Used in this Video:
Artist: RDScally and the Obstweedles
Song: Gardening With Candide
https://obstweedles.bandcamp.com/album/gardening-with-candide-the-optimist-grows-it-alone-jardiner-avec-candide
Album: Gardening With Candide
QZ-6V5-16-00175 ASCAP
Copyright 2020 RDScally / Wounded Weasel Publishing
Available from Bandcamp
https://obstweedles.bandcamp.com/track/gardening-with-candide

#ireland #newgrange #passagetomb #irish #irishhistory #ancient #ancientireland #countymeath #riverboyne #boynevalley #history #prehistoric #prehistoricireland #megalithic #megalithicireland #archeology #kerbstone #ritual #mysterious #bronzeage #henge #standingstone #stonecircle #neolithic #neolithicage #runes #wintersolstice #megalithicart

The Fascinating Castles of County Louth. Ireland

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County Louth has a wealth of historic castles.

Many of these castles are historic ruins, but a few have been restored and are still in use.

At least three County Louth castles – Belllingham Castle, Darver Castle and Slane Castle – are wedding and event venues. Another – Smarmore Castle – is a drug and alcohol dependency treatment facility. Ardee Castle houses municipal government offices.

A few castles, such as Castle Roche, are on private land. Others, such as Carlingford (King John’s) Castle, The Mint in Carlingford and Roodstown Castle, are designated Irish national monuments.

This video covers just some of Louth’s prominent castles and isn’t comprehensive.

A full listing of Louth’s castles:
Rootsweb.com The Castles of Ireland
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/castles/irecastl-Louth.htm

#ireland #irish #irishhistory #irishcastle #louth #countylouth #history #castles #irishcastles #carlingford #cúchulainn #roodstown #ardee #irishcastles #castleroche #carlingfordcastle #middleages #medieval #medievalreland #englishhistory #england #thepale

The Majestic Ruin of Castle Roche

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Castle Roche is a Norman castle was the seat of the de Verdun family who built the castle in 1236 AD. [1]

Located 10 km (7 miles) northwest of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, Castle Roche is located on a large and steep-sided rocky outcrop with a commanding view of the surrounding area.

A deep moat and thick walls rendered it virtually impregnable. A secret passage may have once connected the castle to a round tower outpost.

The castle’s layout is nearly triangular with a large central courtyard inside the walls. A bailey separated from the castle to the north controlled entrance to the castle and the bridge between its two large bastion towers.

Although ruined the internal layout of the castle is visible, with a two- or three-story hall in the south sections along with remains other structures.

Castle Roche held a strategic position on the border between the then Gaelic province of Ulster, and the Anglo-Norman territory known as The Pale. The castle controlled the pass into what is now South Armagh.

Castle Roche was known as ‘Castellum de Rupe’ or ‘Castle on the Rock’ due to its strategic location. The de Verdun family owned the site for four centuries. Nicholas de Verdun (who died in 1316), a younger brother of Theobald II de Verdun, was in charge during the Bruce Invasion by Edward Bruce, brother of Robert the Bruce.

A gathering of English forces in Ireland took place here in 1561. The castle was ruined in 1641, during the Oliver Cromwell’s conquest of Ireland.

A Guide (With Warnings) For Visiting Castle Roche Near Dundalk https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/cast… Sources and credits: De Verdun family history https://web.archive.org/web/201603031… Castle Roche photo Creative Commons, by Hazazzy, uploaded 6 April 2010. The Majestic Ruin of Castle Roche

Exploring King John’s Castle, Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland

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Drawing of de Lacy by Gerald of Wales

King John’s Castle, also known as Carlingford Castle, played a role in 500 years of Irish history from medieval times to the Battle of the Boyne.

Carlingford Castle is located in a strategic position on a high rocky outcrop point above Carlingford’s harbor on the south side of Carlingford Lough.

The original section of the castle, its west wing, was built in the late 12th century by Hugh de De Lacy, Lord of Meath, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland. De Lacy was a wealthy and powerful Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder.

King John hunting a stag with hounds.

King John hunting a stag with hounds.

De Lacy accompanied King Henry II as part of an Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in October 1171.

In early 1172 De Lacy was sent accept the surrender of Rory, the last High King of Ireland prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion. Before King Henry returned to England around the end of March 1172, De Lacy was granted authority over Meath and was given command of Dublin Castle.

The catch for De Lacy was he had to gain control of the portions of Ireland that Henry had granted to him. In an effort to control eastern Ireland, De Lacy began building a series of castles, including Trim Castle in Meath, Kilkea Castle, and a mott-and-baily structure in Clandard in County Meath.

Returning to England in late 1172, De Lacy was involved in a dispute with Archbishop of Canterbury Richard of Dover and in 1173 he led in an unsuccessful battle in France during fighting with French King Louis VII.[1]

De Lacy returned to Ireland as procurator-general in 1177 and quickly became a controversial figure.

As governor of Ireland De Lacy took control of both Leinster and Meath and continued building numerous castles.

De Lacy’s marriage to an Irish princess angered Henry.

De Lacy married the daughter of Ruadri O Conchobair, deposed High King of Ireland, in 1181 without asking Henry’s permission. He was recalled from his royal post because of the marriage. But he was sent back Ireland in 1182, this time with royal clerk Robert of Shrewsbury watching over him.

Henry sent his son John, the future King John, to Ireland in 1185. The prince complained to his father that De Lacy was preventing the Irish from paying tribute.

King John supposedly stayed in the castle for three days in 1210 while his army crushed a rebellion by Ireland’s Anglo-Norman lords. It then became known as King John’s castle.

Some accounts accuse De Lacy of trying rule Ireland on his own.

One account says De Lacy lost favor because of complaints of his injustice by the Irish. His mistreatment of the Irish leadership may have led to his death in 1186.

De Lacy’s murder is described in the Annals of Ulster –

“A.D. 1186. Hugo de Lacy went to Durrow to make a castle there, having a countless number of English with him; for he was king of Meath, Breifny, and Oriel, and it was to him the tribute of Connaught was paid, and he it was that won all Ireland for the English. Meath from the Shannon to the sea was full of his castles and English followers. After the completion of this work by him, i.e., the erection of the castle of Durrow, he came out to look at the castle, having three Englishmen along with him. There came then one youth of the men of Meath up to him, having his battle-axe concealed, namely Gilla-gan-inathar O’Megey, the foster son of the Fox himself (chief of Teffia), and he gave him one blow, so that he cut off his head, and he fell, both head and body, into the ditch of the castle.”

O’Megey, escaped. His motive may have been revenge for seizures of land by De Lacy, according to Alfred Webb’s A Compendium of Irish Biography, published in 1878.

In 1326 control of the castle was given to Geoffrey le Blound, then to Edmond Loundres in 1388, and Stephen Gernon in 1400. Henry MacShane O’Neill attempted to capture the castle in 1596.

The castle was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation during the Irish Confederate Wars 1641 to 1653. Sir Henry Tichborne, (Parliamentarian) gained control of the castle in 1642, then by Murrough O’Brien in 1649 and Charles Coote in 1650.

Jacobites fired on the castle in 1689 during the Williamite War. It was used as a Williamite hospital prior to the Battle of the Boyne.[2][3]

[1] Kingsford, Charles Lethbridge (1892). “Lacy, Hugh de (d.1186)”. In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 31. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
[2] “Castles.nl – Carlingford Castle”, https://www.castles.nl/carlingford-castle.
[3] “Castle works progress – Independent.ie”, https://www.independent.ie/regionals/argus/news/castle-works-progress-31177882.html.
Four Masters, Annals of Ireland by the: Translated and Edited by John O’Donovan. 7 vols. Dublin, 1856.
Giraldus Cambrensis: Topography, and History of the Conquest in Ireland: Forester and Wright. London, 1863.
Music: Far Over The Highlands, Christopher Moe Ditievsen; The Norman Kings, Bonnie Grace

#ireland #irish #IrishHistory #irishcastle #history #carlingford #CountyLouth #englishhistory

Seán Hurley: Drinagh, Ireland’s Easter Rising Hero

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Seán Hurley was the only Cork volunteer killed in Dublin during the Easter Rising of 1916.

Seán Hurley was born in July 1887 to John Daniel Hurley and Catherine Walsh of Drinagh, Co. Cork, Ireland. He was the youngest of seven children.

He attended Drinagh National School and the Clonakilty Boys School. Among his classmates in Clonakilty was Michael Collins.

Seán immigrated to London in 1906. He worked at Harrods department store as an accounts clerk.

He joined the Geraldine GAA club and was considered a good athlete. Among his team mates was Michael Collins.

Hurley joined the London branch of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He also joined the newly formed London Branch of the Irish Volunteers.

Returning to the Dublin in January 1916, Hurley worked at Wilson and Crowe, Bootmakers, Lower Bridge Street, Dublin.

Hurley fought with the F Company, 1st Battalion. His commanding officers were Edward Daly, Piaras Beaslai, Jack Shouldice and Captain Fionán Lynch.

Hurley was garrisoned on Church Street during Easter Week.

Just before the rebels surrendered on 29 April 1916, Hurley was shot in the head and arm.

He was brought to the medical station at St. Mathews Hall, Church Street, which was run by the Capuchin Order. After the surrender he was transferred to Richmond Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

He was buried along with 15 other Easter Rising casualties in St Paul’s section, Republican Plot, Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin.

The commemorative sculpture in Drinagh portrays Seán Hurley in his volunteer uniform during the Rising. The sculpture was created by Don Cronin, http://www.doncronin.net/. Cronin also created the life size Bull in bronze in Macroom and Horse and Rider in bronze in Innishannon among many other works.

Partly funded by community donations and the Cork County Council, the statue was dedicated in 2016.

#ireland #irish #IrishHistory #EasterRising #1916 #Dublin #MichaelCollins #Drinagh #IrishRepublicanBrotherhood #Cork #CountyCork #WestCork #GaelicBar #DonCronin

Sources –

1916 Relatives Association
https://1916relatives.com/

1916 martyr Seán Hurley to be honoured in west Cork
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/1916-martyr-Seán-hurley-to-be-honoured-in-west-cork-1.2630039

Drinagh’s Seán Hurley recalled in exhibition
https://www.southernstar.ie/news/drinaghs-Seán-hurley-recalled-in-exhibition-4155734

Michael Collins House 
https://www.facebook.com/michaelcollinshouse/posts/382047960597932/

Seán Hurley 1916 Commemorative statue
https://fundit.ie/project/sen-hurley-1916-commemorative-statue

Videos:
Seán Hurley 1916
https://youtu.be/8cFhZFanJ9w

Drinagh 1966 Seán Hurley Monument
https://youtu.be/3N22nwyZ_jE

Drinagh Seán Hurley Commemoration 1966 and 2016
https://youtu.be/hRV4hhoAdpY

Connolly’s Gaelic Bar
https://www.facebook.com/ConnollysGaelicBar/about
Don Cronin – Sculptor
http://www.doncronin.net/

3D Design shop

http://3ddesignshop.com/

The Mysterious Mint of Carlingford, Ireland

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Carlingford’s Mysterious Mint

The Mint is located on Carlingford’s medieval main street.

It is a fortified town house or tower house dating to the 15th – 16th century, but its exact purpose is unclear.

The name “The Mint” is presumed to derive from a license granted to Carlingford by Edward VI of England in 1467 to mint coinage.[1]

The limestone building is believed to have housed one of Carlingford’s wealthy merchant families, the Marmions.[2]

However, some structural quirks of the building cast some doubt on whether it was a residence or a commercial building designed to house valuables. Thus the mystery of The Mint.

The building lacks a fireplace, suggesting it may not have been a residence. It is also highly fortified, with extra thick walls,

One historical fact that could indicate the structure was just an extra fortified residence is the fact that no coins minted in Carlingford have been found.

It’s defensive features include a a battlemented chemin de ronde on the roof, with loopholes for muskets. The street side doorway is protected by and elaborate machicolation, a structure for dropping stones or material such as boiling water, boiling oil, hot sand or quicklime[3] on attackers

The Mint also features a set of five highly decorated windows, three of which are at street level, on the side facing the street.

The ogee windows have carvings of a horse, a bust of a man, a bird, a snake and Celtic interlace designs. Some sources state this reflects a revival of interest in Celtic art during the 15th–16th centuries. Each of the windows have hood mouldings and mullions.

There are also five small windows on the rear each dressed either with an arch of stones or headers and sills. There is a large first floor opening on the rear of the building and what may have been a ground floor rear entrance that has been sealed up.

The Mint is the smallest of three fortified buildings in historic Carlingford.

Carlingford is also home to the majestic ruin, King John’s castle and the Taaffe’s Castle, another example of a fortified medieval Irish tower/town house.

[1]Ruding, Rogers (1 January 1840). Annals of the coinage of Great Britain and its dependencies: from the earliest period of authentic history to the reign of Victoria. Hearne. p. 241

[2]https://www.google.com/books/edition/Irish_knighthoods_and_related_subjects/-txZiDABfjcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22The+Mint%22+(Carlingford)&pg=PA78&printsec=frontcover

[3]Medieval castle SIEGES in depth

The Black Irish Spanish Armada Myth

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The English attack the
Spanish Armada

The notion that Spanish sailors from the ill-fated Spanish Armada settled Ireland after their ships sank off the Irish coast is an enduring myth.

The myth posits that these Armada survivors stayed in Ireland, intermarrying with the Irish in great enough numbers to create an entire segment of the population with dark complexion, dark eyes and dark hair – unlike many pale Irish. These individuals are referred to by some as the Black Irish.

There is virtually no evidence – circumstantial or otherwise – to support the connection to Spanish Armada survivors. The term Black Irish is not widely used in Ireland. But the origin and use of the term is a subject for another video.

There is significant historical evidence that most of the Spanish who survived were either captured and killed by Irish locals or the English. The small number who were not killed were either noblemen taken for ransom or those who found help from friendly Irish or Scottish chieftains who then helped them return to Spain.

The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships that was part of plan to invade England in 1588.

The English attacked the Armada in the English channel. The Spanish fleet scattered and the English pursed the defeated Armada.

Trying to return to Spain, some Spanish Armada ships wound up off the west coast of Ireland.

Fierce storms in September 1588 sank many of the damaged ships.

Between 17 and 24 ships of the Spanish Armada were lost on the Irish coast. This about one-third of the fleet’s total loss of 63, about 6,000 men were killed.[1]

Spanish Armada ships either made landfall or where wrecked at several locations in Ireland.

The galleass La Girona sank off Lacada Point, County Antrim, 26 October 1588. Of the 1,300 on board, there were nine survivors. 260 bodies washed ashore.

A storm a month earlier was even more deadly.

On 21 September 1588, three damaged vessels of the Spanish Armada were blown ashore during a violent storm on Streedagh Beach in what is now County Sligo, Ireland.

Accounts differ but about 1,800 men drowned, according to an account by Captain Francisco de Cuellar, one of the few survivors. Approximately 300 made it ashore.

“Over a thousand drowned among them many important people, captains, gentlemen and regular officers….many men drowned inside the ships, while others jumped into the water never to come up again.” — Captain Francisco de Cuellar

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433075880959&view=2up&seq=2&skin=mobile

Once ashore, most of the survivors were attacked by locals and robbed of everything, including their clothes, or they were attacked by English soldiers and slaughtered.

De Cuellar managed to survive a number of encounters with robbers and the English.

English soldiers in Ireland were ordered to kill any Spanish prisoners, England’s Lord Deputy William FitzWilliam instead of asking for ransom as was common during that period.

It was with the demise of these Spanish Armada ships is when the myth of Black Irish takes root.

So how did the myth of Spanish Armada survivors living in Ireland get started?

The historical record shows the Black Irish – Spanish Armada myth likely originates from local lore.

The first recorded references to descendants of the Spanish Armada among the Irish population are from the 20th century. All the references cite local stories as the source.

The first is from 1906, by British historian Maj. Martin A. Hume.

Hume points out there were too few Spanish Armada survivors to have made a difference in the Irish population and that centuries contact with Spain prior to the Armada  would explain any “Spanish blood”.

“But it is certain the English at the time of the Armada prevented anything like a settlement of Spaniards there,” Hume wrote.

Hume’s remarks appeared in The Geographical Journal, XXVII: 5 (London, May 1906) p 448-449

The second reference is from British writer Lorna Rea’s 1933 book The Spanish Armada.

“A few others escaped. There were other Irish girls who pitied them and took them home and forgot they were enemies; so that even now on that coast a child is occasionally born whose dark hair and eyes and soft brown Southern skin testifies to it remote Spanish ancestry,” Rea wrote on page 160.

Rea does not question this account.

A third reference comes from Irish journalist T.P. Kilfeather. Kilfeather questions “the belief that men of Spanish appearance in County Galway [W Ireland] may be descendants of men who came ashore from the ships of the Armada and inter-married with the Irish…” — T.P. Kilfeather, Ireland: Graveyard of the Spanish Armada, 1967 p 63

About 5,000 men died by drowning, starvation or slaughter by local inhabitants and English troops, after their ships were driven ashore on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland.

[1] Whiting, J. R. S. (1988). The Enterprise of England: The Spanish Armada. Gloucester: Sutton. p. 171. ISBN 9780862994761.

de Cuellar, Francisco. “Account of his service in the Armada and on the run in Ireland”.

T.P. Kilfeather Ireland: Graveyard of the Spanish Armada (Anvil Books Ltd, 1967)

thomas p. kunesh, 1981. “The myth of the Black Irish: Spanish syntagonism and prethetical salvation.” Published online at: www.darkfiber.com/blackirish/. Retrieved 25 May 2013.

Images:

Route taken by the Spanish Armada, Public Domain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada_in_Ireland#/media/File:Routes_of_the_Spanish_Armada.gif

An Armada galeass, similar to Zuñiga, depicted in the anonymous Greenwich Cartoon, Unknown – National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Public Domain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada_in_Ireland#/media/File:Armada_galleass.png

“Treasures from the Girona” permanent exhibit — Ulster Museum, Stranmillis Road, Botanic Gardens, Belfast BT9 5AB, Northern Ireland, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Bbaldwin7

View over Port-Na Spaniagh toward Lacada Point, c.1888. Robert John Welch, photographer (died, 1936) – Public Records Office of Northern Ireland — (photo print, c.1888), Public Domain, Port-Na Spaniagh c.1888 – Girona (ship) – Wikipedia

Destrucción_de_la_Armada_Invencible,_de_José_Gartner_de_la_Peña_(1892).jpg, José Gartner

, Public DomainFile:Destrucción de la Armada Invencible, de José Gartner de la Peña (1892).jpg – Wikimedia Commons

English Ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 RMG BHC0262.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:English_Ships_and_the_Spanish_Armada,_August_1588_RMG_BHC0262.jpg

The English pursue the Spanish fleet east of Plymouth on 31 July – 1 August 1588 RMG D3294.tiff, Public Domain

, The English pursue the Spanish fleet east of Plymouth on 31 July – 1 August 1588 RMG D3294 – Spanish Armada – Wikipedia

English fireships launched at the Spanish armada off Calais, Royal Museums Greenwich Collections, Public Domain

Spanish Armada fireships – Spanish Armada – Wikipedia

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, August 8, 1588 – painted by Philip James de Loutherbourg (1796), Public Domain

Loutherbourg-Spanish Armada – Spanish Armada – Wikipedia

Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada; the Apothecaries painting, sometimes attributed to Nicholas HilliardPublic DomainLa batalla de Gravelinas, por Nicholas Hilliard – Spanish Armada – Wikipedia

St Patrick Wasn’t Irish And He’s Not A Saint

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St. Patrick isn’t Irish, and officially he’s not saint.

Patrick was never formally canonized. He lived before current Catholic Church laws on naming saints.[1]

Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the 4th century as Roman rule was ending. His exact birthplace is uncertain.

The dates of Patrick’s life are also uncertain. It is generally accepted he died March 17. This date is Patrick’s feast day and is celebrated worldwide as St. Patrick’s Day.

There is general agreement among historians he was active as a missionary in Ireland in the fifth century.

Two works in Latin generally accepted as written by Patrick have survived. These are the autobiographical Declaration (Confessio) and the Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus (Epistola).[2]

These works provide the only generally accepted details of his life.[3]

According to the Confession of Saint Patrick, at the age of sixteen he was captured by a group of Irish pirates, from his family’s Villa at “Bannavem Taburniae”.[9]

Patrick escaped, returned to his family, and become a cleric. He returned to northern and western Ireland as a missionary, and later served as a bishop, but little is known about this time in his life.

By the 7th century, Patrick was revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

Two late 7th-century Patrick biographers documented the early exploits helping build his fame.[4][5]

In 431, Palladius was made the first bishop of Ireland, preceding Patrick.[7]

Palladius, from a prominent family in Gaul, was a deacon. Pope Celestine I made him a bishop and sent him to Ireland “to the Scotti believing in Christ”.[6]

Parts of both life stories may have been combined in Irish tradition.[10]

Palladius ministered in Ireland until the 460s.[8]

References and sources:

[1] Flechner, Roy (2019). Saint Patrick Retold: The Legend and History of Ireland’s Patron Saint. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, page 1. ISBN 978-0691184647. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Saint_Patrick_Retold/YdVsDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

[2]Both texts in original Latin, various translations and with images of all extant manuscript testimonies on the “Saint Patrick’s Confessio HyperStack website”. Royal Irish Academy Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources.

[3]Macthéni, Muirchú maccu; White, Newport John Davis (1920). St. Patrick, his writings and life. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 31–51, 54–60.

[4]These are the writings of Tírechán and the Vita sancti Patricii of Muirchú moccu Machtheni.[58]

[5]Byrne, pp. 78–79; Paor 1993, pp. 6–7, 88–89; Duffy 1997, pp. 16–17; Fletcher 1997, pp. 300–06; Yorke 2006, p. 112

“Christianity in Ireland before Patrick”. The Irish News. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2023.

[7]Cusack, Margaret Anne, “Mission of St. Palladius”, An Illustrated History of Ireland, Chapter VIII, 1868 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Entry for AD 431 Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine

[8]Byrne, pp. 78–79; Paor 1993, pp. 6–7, 88–89; Duffy 1997, pp. 16–17; Fletcher 1997, pp. 300–06; Yorke 2006, p. 112

[9]“Confession of St Patrick”. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 7 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.

[10]O’Rahilly, T. F. (1942). The Two Patricks: A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Fifth-Century Ireland. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Music: A Celtic Blessing – Bonnie Grace

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The Symbols of St. Patrick

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The mythology surrounding St. Patrick is rich with symbolism.

These are the symbols of St. Patrick.

Patrick is associated with numerous symbols some more famous than others.[1]

The Shamrock
The most famous St. Patrick symbol is the shamrock. 

Patrick is said to have used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the idea of the holy trinity.[2]

The shamrock became one of Ireland's national symbols.[3]

Crosses
St. Patrick is associated with several styles of crosses.[4]

One type commonly associated with Patrick is the cross pattée.[5]

The cross pattée can be seen on the white stole on Patrick's vestments in this stained glass window.

Perhaps the most famous St. Patrick cross is one used on flags: St. Patrick's Saltire.[6]

It is used in the insignia of the Order of Saint Patrick, established in 1783 by King George III.

After the 1800 Acts of Union it was combined with Saint George's Cross of England and Saint Andrew's Cross of Scotland.[7]

St. Patrick has also been credited with bringing the Celtic cross to Ireland.[8]

There are no known Celtic crosses  from St. Patrick's time.

Popular legend posits that Patrick combined the cross symbol of Christianity with the sun cross to impress pagan converts of the importance of the cross. These two ideas were linked to appeal to pagans. Another interpretation says that placing the cross on top of the circle represents Christ's supremacy over the pagan sun symbol.

St. Patrick’s Blue
The official color of Ireland in heraldic terms is azure blue.[9]

The association of blue with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when it became the color of the Anglo-Irish Order of St Patrick. Like St. Patrick's Saltire, the association of blue with St. Patrick came from the establishment of the Anglo-Irish Order of St Patrick.

The Irish Presidential Standard - A gold harp with silver strings on field of  blue. This shade of blue has been described "St. Patrick's Blue".

St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle. Home of the Order of St. Patrick, Is carpeted in St. Patrick's blue.

There is no official Irish national color. Green is the de facto national color. The only rules about color are in the Irish Constitution regarding the national flag.[10]

St. Patrick’s Holy Wells
St. Patrick baptized a lot of Irish people. Often these baptisms took place at wells and springs that had been scared pagan sites.[11]

There are at least 25 holy wells associated with St. Patrick in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This St. Patrick's Holy Well is at Ogulla in County Roscommon.

Snakes
A famous myth involves Patrick driving snakes out of Ireland.[12]

Often this myth may be the only thing that many people know about St. Patrick.

There have been no snakes in Ireland since before the last ice age, 12,000 years ago.[13]

The Shepherd's Crook

St. Patrick is often depicted holding a shepherd's crook.[14]

A shepherd's crook is a long stick with a hook at one end used by shepherds to manage and catch sheep.

The crook symbolizes Patrick as a slave shepherd and as shepherd to his Christian followers.

References:
[1] St. Patrick's Day Facts: Snakes, a Slave, and a Saint Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine National Geographic
[2] Monaghan, Patricia (2009). The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1438110370.
[3] Hegarty, Neil (2012). Story of Ireland. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 978-1448140398.
[4]List of Saint Patrick's crosses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses
[5] "Ireland: St Patrick's Cross". Flags of the World. 6 June 2012.
[6]Galloway, Peter (March 1999). The most illustrious order: the Order of St Patrick and its knights. Unicorn. pp. 171–2. ISBN 9780906290231.
[7] "The Union Jack or The Union Flag?". The Flag Institute. 20 June 2014.
[8] "The History and Symbolism of the Celtic Cross – Irish Fireside Travel and Culture.
[9] Galloway, Peter (1999). The most illustrious Order: The Order of St Patrick and its knights (2nd ed.). London: Unicorn. p. 174. ISBN 0-906290-23-6.
[10] Article 7 of the Constitution of Ireland (1 July 1937)
[11] Ireland's ancient holy wells of Saint Patrick, Driscoll, Amanda, IrishCentral, 27 Jan. 2023https://www.irishcentral.com/travel/best-of-ireland/ireland-holy-well 
[12] Roy Flechner (2019). Saint Patrick Retold: The Legend and History of Ireland's Patron Saint. Princeton University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-691-19001-3. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020
[13]Owen, James (13 March 2008). "Snakeless in Ireland: Blame Ice Age, Not St. Patrick". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012
[14] Caeremoniale Episcoporum (Vatican Polyglott Press, 1985)

Images
Patrick depicted with shamrock in detail of stained glass window in St. Benin's Church, Kilbennan, County Galway, Ireland, Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shamrock, Creative Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Irish_clover.jpg
Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and St. Patrick, Goleen, County Cork, Ireland, Andreas F. Borchert, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Goleen_Church_of_Our_Lady,_Star_of_the_Sea,_and_St._Patrick_North_Wall_Fourth_Window_Saint_Patrick_Detail_2009_09_10.jpg
A cross pattée, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses#/media/File:Cross-Pattee-Heraldry.svg
Saint Patrick's Flag, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses#/media/File:Saint_Patrick's_Saltire.svg
Flag of the United Kingdom, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack#/media/File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg
Celtic Cross, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses#/media/File:CelticCross.svg
Badge of the Order of St Patrick, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_blue#/media/File:Badges_of_the_Order_of_St_Patrick.jpg
The Irish Presidential Standard, Setanta Saki, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_blue#/media/File:Flag_of_the_President_of_Ireland.svg
St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle. Home of the Order of St Patrick, Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_blue#/media/File:St._Patrick%E2%80%99s_Hall_Dublin_Castle_2014.JPG
Patrick banishing the snakes, Lyricmac, CC BY 2.5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick#/media/File:STP-ELP.jpg
The garter snake, Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake#/media/File:Coast_Garter_Snake.jpg
Shepherd's crook, Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_crook#/media/File:Crook,_shepherd's_(AM_1958.105.1-2).jpg
A shepherd's crook, Arthur Hacker, Public Domain, https://archive.org/stream/artatsalonchamps00londrich#page/n103/mode/2up/search/Boughto,