The Owenwee River
Owenwee is the anglicized version of Abhainn Bhui (Yellow River). It is thought that the tumbling falls and gravels which characterise the rugged upper reaches were a rich source of gold for Bronze Age peoples, hence the given name. Nowadays the Owenwee is more renowned for its runs of salmon and sea trout, and for the […]
The Skelp
The Skelp (Irish: scealp: a rocky ridge) brings us to the end of the Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail on the shoulder of Croagh Patrick (Cruach Phadraig: lit. Patrick’s stack, known locally as The Reek). The rock here is quartzite, a metamorphic rock developed from quartz sandstone exposed to heat and/or pressure. The peat overlying the […]
The Boheh Stone and the Rolling Sun
On the 18th of April and again on the 24th of August each year a plethora of archaeologists, historians, folklorists and other interested folk gather at the site of the Boheh stone to witness an age-old phenomenon and watch as the setting sun appears to roll down the northern slope of Croagh Patrick some ten […]
Lankill Standing Stone
This impressive stone, some 7 feet tall, a foot or so wide and about 8 inches thick , is a piece of shale that must have been carried a considerable distance. It is thought to date to the Bronze Age and to have been ‘Christianised’ at some point. It is decorated with two crosses, one […]
Aille Caves/sunken area
Near the site of the Aille caves, there are a series of large depressions in the ground, having their origins in the collapse of the roof of the Aille caves below. This collapse happened as late as 1959, in some parts. Just around the corner are the Aille cliffs and caves. In the rainy season, […]
Aille River and Pollatoomary cave
The Aille river, which runs throughout Co. Mayo, has a particular feature which is very unusual—namely an underground course. The river extends from the Partry mountains and disappears into the Pollatoomary cave in Aille. It resurfaces again in Bellaburke (Michigan State University, 2009). The river drains the Partry mountains and rises in Glenmask, ten miles […]
Clogh Patrick at Lanmore near Aughagower
Clogh Patrick, which is translated at ‘Patrick’s Stone’ is one of many standing stones located along the original Tochar Phadraig. The stone is also known as Clogh fhada, or ‘the tall stone,’ (Michigan State University, 2009) and is located at Lanmore, near Aughagower in Co. Mayo (Corlett, 2001). It is also known as the ‘Lanmore […]
Sunken monastery at Lankill near Aughagower
Towards the left side of the standing stone at Lankill, near Aughagower, lies an area where a monastery once stood. Now, all that can be seen are overgrown trees and shrubs. However, should those plants be removed, the remains of a monastery could still be seen in the ground. Based on the remains, it is […]
Healing Stone & St. Brendan’s well at Lankill near Aughagower
St. Brendan’s well Henry (1952) writes that “The townland of Lankill is almost 4 miles south of Westport, a short distance east of a by-road which, branching off the Westport-Leenane road, goes due south towards the Partry mountains. It is situated among low and not unfertile hills.” Nestled inside the woods past the Killeen lies […]
Standing stone at Lankill near Aughagower
Regarding the heritage of the place called Lankill, John Keville in his (1982) work Aughagower, writes that the “Lankill townland is immediately east of Lanmore, and about three miles by road from Aughagower. As its ancient remains show, it was a place of some importance perhaps more than a thousand years before St. Patrick, and […]