FIGURE 3. The Turoe Stone.
Four miles north-north-east of Loughrea is a decorated stone known as the Turoe Stone, which originally stood outside the rath of Feerwore in the townland of Turoe but now stands nearby on the lawn of Turoe House [46]. The nearby rath of Feerwore is an Early Iron Age habitation and was investigated by Joseph Raftery in 1938, the first Iron Age habitation to be excavated in modern times. According to Raftery the work on the site did not make any ‘clearer the date or purpose of the Turoe stone’.
The community in which the stone stood was a settled agricultural one which concentrated on stock-raising and a small amount of tillage. The underlying limestone would have enriched the soil and the grass, which was the mainstay of the cattle. These conclusions were prompted by the number of animal bones recovered at the site. Raftery says that the animal most adapted to the locality was the ox of the Celtic shorthorn variety. Sheep and pigs were also present, but in smaller numbers. Recovery of the bones of red deer and wolf together with a flint arrowhead shows that hunting was a likely activity and possibly on occasion a necessity for survival. That grain was grown was surmised by the existence of one fragment of a rotary quern. Iron was smelted on the site, and the objects were likely wrought by a travelling smith. An iron fibula or brooch found on the site suggests the first century BC as the latest date, according to Raftery, for the ‘beginning of the settlement at Turoe’.
The Turoe Stone would seem to demonstrate a spiritual aspect to the community. And it is here that the prevailing mythology should be investigated. The stone with its three smaller standing stones may have nothing to do with the fort and may have existed prior to its establishment. It may also have constituted a pre-Christian sacred centre, and the fort may have been set up in order to care for and manage any ceremonies that occurred there. It is usual for communities to develop close to sacred centres. As the stone was only ten yards outside the banks of the fort, the inhabitants would have been very close to the stones and very protective of them. It is also possible that the fort may have been inhabited only at certain times of the year during specific rites. Similar forts can be found at Magh Slecht in Co. Cavan, where Crom Dubh* was worshipped. Raftery mentions that the site may have been used as a sacred grave, which would make the presence of the stones more understandable. However, the desire to be buried within the precincts of a holy place generally comes after the site is no longer used as a ritual centre. For example, the burial of bodies within chuches throughout the length and breadth of the country almost always occurs when the church is in ruins.
Feerwore is most likely derived from fear mór (‘great man’), a local term for those standing stones considered to represent the phallus. Cloghafarmore (Cloch an Fear Mór, ‘the stone of the great man’) is another example found at Knockbridge [36], west of Dundalk, Co. Louth; the great warrior Cú Chulainn died fighting while tied to this stone. The phallus symbolised the generative power of nature. In ancient Greece an image of the phallus was carried in procession during the Dionysian festivals. It was a central part in many religious systems and thus was widely venerated.
The stone has been described as a massive granite boulder ‘hewn to its present shape from a glacial erratic’. It is nearly four feet high and worked into the shape of a domed pillar, cylindrical and with a domed cap. Raferty describes it as ‘decorated with an asymmetrical series of double interlocking spirals, trumpet designs, circles and meandering curves, motives which continue downwards on the cylindrical portion of the stone. Near the base is a narrow band with a step-pattern, or “Wall of Troy” design.’
Professor Michael V. Duignan, from Galway University, in his analysis of the stone’s designs compared it to British La Tène art, in particular to the British mirror style. Although there are five examples of this form of La Tène art in Ireland, the stone seems to be of Irish manufacture. A similar design can be found on the gold collar from Broighter in Co. Derry. It has been suggested that an old Atlantic route between France and Ireland in the second and first centuries BC may have been the conduit which introduced these highly decorative stones. A Breton craftsman may even have chiselled the great Turoe stone.
Three islands – Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer – collectively known as the Aran Islands [51] lie in a north-east to south-west direction about ten miles off the coast of Galway. The name Aran comes from the Irish word ara meaning kidney, which probably refers to their shape. Inishmore (Inis Mór, ‘big island’), the largest of the islands, is about eight miles long by two-and-a-half miles wide, though its width is less than a mile at some points. The population of Inishmore is about 900, while that of Inishmaan (Inis Meáin, ‘the middle island’) is around 160 and Inisheer (Inis Oírr or Inis Oirthir, ‘east island’) about 260. Irish is the main language spoken on the islands.
FIGURE 4. Dún Aengus on Inishmore.
The most distinctive feature of the islands is the plate of limestone covering them, which is a continuation of the limestone lands of the Burren in north Clare and south Galway. This carboniferous limestone, in which many fossils can be seen, was the muddy base of the Atlantic Ocean about 300 million years ago.
The great fort of Dún Aengus on Inishmore is the most striking of all the monuments on the islands. It stands on the edge of a vertical cliff more than 300 feet above the Atlantic. It has an inner enclosure which contains a rectangular platform of limestone. This platform is central to how one ‘sees’ Dún Aengus. There are four enclosures or ramparts surrounding Dún Aengus and there is a chevaux-de-frise (upright protective stones) between the third and fourth ramparts. For many archaeologists, though not all, Dún Aengus is seen as a fortress. The ‘outer wall’ presumably fell into the sea. The contention that the monument was a fortress is backed up by the presence of the defensive chevaux-de-frise.
However, if the wall did not fall into the sea and the chevaux-de-frise was merely for reasons of prestige, then what you see is a magnificent amphitheatre, with terraces for sitting and a platform or raised structure for ceremonial celebration, where celebrants looked out to sea and the setting sun to the sound of Bronze Age horns and drums. A probable time for these ceremonies was mid-summer during the Late Bronze Age. This raised platform is a ceremonial site of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age for the ritual of mating and harmony. When I was lecturing in Dublin, I brought foreign exchange students from Europe and America to this site and we were joined by Simon O’Dwyer, the Irish expert on Bronze and Iron Age horns, and his wife Maria who plays the bodhrán, a leather drum. After a brief talk on the site from the platform, Simon and Maria played Bronze Age music. When they finished, we were surprised by the arrival of a group of women who sang many old songs in Irish and continued singing while the sun went down, leaving in its train a long, golden pathway to the distant horizon.
Because of its outstanding presence, Dún Aengus has a continuous stream of tourists. If one wishes to see a lesser and quieter version of the great monument, one should begin one’s Aran experience at the promontory fort on Inishmore known as Dún Duchathair. Being less known, it is peaceful and spectacular in its own way, surrounded as it is on both sides by the sea, with magnificent views.
Inishmore can be comfortably explored by foot. A half hour’s walk in a westerly direction from Kilronan will bring you to Cowragh. Here, you take a boreen signposted for Teampall an Ceathrar Alainn (‘the church of the four beautiful women’). Head south along this path and you will come to a megalithic tomb known as the Eochaill Wedge Tomb, which is about 4,000 years old. It is locally known as the Bed of Diarmuid* and Grainne.*
Return then to the main road and walk about one mile to the beach at Kilmurvey, and continue along the road for about half a mile until you come to a crossroads; here turn right and walk a short distance to Clochán na Carraige, a rectangular