Category: Ireland

Fairy Mound and Hawthorn Trees

by irishvisions

Story
Traditional folklore in rural Ireland maintains fairies live in drumlin mounds with hawthorn trees growing on top and around them. There were many times in rural communities when local workers would not help dig a road, foundation or railway line through a fairy mound. To this day, there are several examples of the Irish refusing to disrupt these hallowed sites especially for the construction of modern roadways.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1939
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Convergence/Divergence

by irishvisions

Story
Glendalough is one of Ireland’s most revered religious sites. St. Kevin founded a monastery here in the sixth century. It features a ninth century round tower built to protect the monks from invading Vikings. This image captures the juncture of two vastly different sets of steps.
Location
Glendalough Monastery, Co. Wicklow
Date
1975
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Path of Desperation

by irishvisions

Story
This haunting image with its ominous, brooding clouds evokes the tragic local tale of the Famine Walk from Louisburgh to Delphi Lodge where the unsympathetic Famine relief officer was visiting. On a cold winter morning in March 1849, hundreds of impoverished, starving, Irish tenant farmers and their families struggled along this desolate road beside Doolough Lake. They arrived in time for their appointed 7.a.m. meeting with the relief official to seek confirmation that they could remain on the outdoor relief roll. The tenants were refused aid. Desperate farmers attempted the tortuous 16-mile journey home. Some of the starving people died en route. The Native American Choctaw tribe had heard of Ireland’s Great Hunger. Just 16 years after the start of the brutal Trail of Tears, members of the Choctaw tribe sacrificed to send financial aid to the Irish people. There is still a deep allegiance between the Irish and Native American peoples. The Irish are honored that members of the Choctaw Nation join in the annual Doolough Famine Walk to commemorate both peoples’ ancestors and reaffirm the Nations’ abiding bond.
Location
Doolough, Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Freshly Cut Bog

by irishvisions

Story
This image depicts several stages of the cutting of turf from a bog face where the spade or slean marks can be seen. The slimy, limp, heavy sods are thrown on the ground above to begin to dry. When firm enough, they are built. In the distance, two farmers are seen “footing” the turf. Ultimately, the turf is stacked into long reeks. These are later transferred to the farmer’s home by donkey or horse and cart.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Turf Embankment

by irishvisions

Story
This image clearly shows the herringbone pattern remaining on the face of the turf bank after four layers of turf have been cut by the spade or slean. Once a sod is cut, it is placed on the ground to dry. After a few days when the turf is firm, four or five sods are stood on end in small triangles to allow the wind and air to freely flow through to continue the drying process. Several more stages ensue before the sods are carried out to a large turf reek on the side of a bog path. Later the dry turf is transported home.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Remains of Castleleaffy

by irishvisions

Story
The ruins of Castleleaffy Castle stand guard over Roscahill inlet near Westport. The remaining walls bear the scars of war, but the gracefully arched interior of the quarters can be clearly seen. In the 16th century, sons of powerful Irish clan chieftains were fostered out to be educated and trained in the arts of leadership and war. The heirs were entrusted to only the most highly regarded allies. Granuaile sent her son Tibbott to be fostered at Roscahill by Edmund Mac Tibbott, a sub-chieftain of her husband Richard Burke. Burke lived in the barony of Burrishoole near where Helen and Ernie O’Malley later moved and farmed.
Location
Roscahill, Westport, Co. Mayo
Date
1975
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Castle of the Pirate Queen, Granuaile

by irishvisions

Story
Granuaile or Grace O’Malley (1530-1603) was the daughter of Eoghan Dubhara Ó Máille, the Chieftain of the O’Malley Clan in Clew Bay, Co. Mayo. She married but returned home from Connemara after her first husband was killed. He had been a chieftain of the O’Flaherty Clan. Grace established her own fleet of ships and took over at least three castle encircling Clew Bay: one on Achill Island’s Kildavnet, one on Clare Island and this one at Carraigahowley. In 1593, Granuaile met in London with another formidable woman, Queen Elizabeth I. The Irish Pirate Queen met with the English monarch to petition for the release of her imprisoned son Tibbott Burke, the restoration of his right to his ancestral lands, and for him eventually to be given the title, “Viscount of Mayo.” Granuaile succeeded. Although Helen originally photographed this site in 1939, she took this picture in 1976 after the castle had been restored.
Location
Carraigahowley, Co. Mayo
Date
1975
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Monuments of Time

by irishvisions

Story
This standing stone, cairn and sacred site may no longer exist. No one has yet been able to identify it. However, the standing stone is atop a cairn that rests above another hallowed site, possibly a holy well. Standing stones are frequently of astro-archaeological significance. They may indicate burial sites, mark ceremonial grounds or even serve as navigational aids.
Location
Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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Standing Stone with Thistle

by irishvisions

Story
This Neolithic standing stone thrusts toward the sky. Such monuments are amongst the many historic, archaeological and sacred sites Helen and Ernie O’Malley documented while traveling throughout Ireland in the late 1930s. Helen lay on the ground to take this shot looking toward the peak of the ancient menhir as a circular trough had been worn around its base by generations of cattle rubbing against it to scratch their hides.
Location
Killala, Co. Mayo
Date
1938
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