The first of three volumes covering all known archaeological monuments in County Galway, from prehistoric times up to AD 1700. This text looks at the monuments of West Galway. Some include traces of more recent activity, in particular the ecclesiastical remains; miscellaneous burials and children's burial grounds. A selection of important 18th and 19th-century monuments have also been included.
This study aims to elucidate concepts of castle in the Netherlands, England and Ireland in both past and present times. The first part of the book examines current, respectively, academic, national and personal appropriations of 'castle'; the second part moves into the past, juxtaposing elite culture and the spatial organisation of 16th and 17th century domestic architecture.
The last in a trilogy of monographs designed to provide a baseline survey of the prehistoric sites of Northern Ireland, this monograph considers the prehistoric artefacts that have been found in Northern Ireland. It aims to provide a basis for further research, and also to stimulate local interest in the prehistory of Northern Ireland.
The storied landscapes of Ireland are dotted with holy wells—hallowed springs, pools, ponds, and lakes credited with curative powers and often associated with Catholic and indigenous saints. While many of these sites have been recently lost to development, others are visited daily for devotions and remain the focus of annual community gatherings. Encouraging both their use and protection, Holy Wells of Ireland delves into these irreplaceable resources of spiritual, archaeological, and historical significance. Reserves of localized spiritual practices, holy wells are also ecosystems in themselves and provide habitats for rare and culturally meaningful flora and fauna. The shift toward a "post-Catholic" Ireland has prompted renewed interest in holy wells as popular domains with organic faith traditions. Of the roughly 3,000 holy wells documented across Ireland, some attract international pilgrims and others are stewarded by a single family. Featuring 140 color images, this remarkable volume shares the transdisciplinary work of contributors who study these wells through the overlapping lenses of anthropology, archaeology, art history, biomedicine, folklore, geography, history, and hydrology. Braiding community perspectives with those of scholars across academia, Holy Wells of Ireland considers Irish holy wells as a resilient feature of ever-evolving Irish Christianity, as inspiration to other faith traditions, as places of pilgrimage and healing, and as threatened biocultural resources.
Illaunloughan was a small monastery on the Atlantic edge of Ireland that lasted from the late 7th to the 9th century. The well-dated material evidence provides a chronological base for activities and customs that were previously of uncertain age in Ireland.
