Druid cottage

26/12/2024

19/12/2024

Ennis is looking beautiful this Christmas, love the pedestrian Street!

O’Connell Street, Ennis, sparkles this Christmas!

18/12/2024

A beautiful adventurous walk in the misty rain today with my neice

16/12/2024

Colourful tribute to Dolores in her hometown of Limerick

12/12/2024

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/biddy-early/id1592547319?i=1000679935926

Podcast Episode · The Clare Oral History Podcast · 10/12/2024 · 50m

12/12/2024

There are some winter days of such beauty that your feet just want to carry your mind all the way through....until 4pm happens and its a quick dash for the cosy fire 🔥

31/10/2024

A summers day on the Flaggy shore at the end of October,a gorgeous walk

31/10/2024

A summer like walk at the end of October on the stunning Flaggy shore

21/10/2024

A calm walk before Storm Ashley

07/10/2024

Last December a mother and daughter beautifully painted stones while staying for one month . They then gifted the stones to the Fairy garden in the 12 O'clock hills on the day they left to go to Connamara. I wonder if these are some of their stones? I still have the 2 they gave me which are very much admired and appreciated ......
cottage

03/10/2024

Hello
The previous message has been removed hopefully

29/09/2024

Sheelanagigg and other pieces that you might discover on a day out near to the Burren National park

24/09/2024

'The Savage pigs of Tulla' the story of a farmer meeting an unfortunate fate at the hands of his own pigs after an unsuccessful journey to market, and the village priest and the local garda sergeant clash over what should be done in the aftermath of the event.

23/09/2024

Musicians enjoying some sunshine at Druid cottage during The Feakle Festival 2024! Remembering all the others who stayed here from time to time....

21/09/2024

Latest photos of Druid Cottage with new desk for those working remotely

15/09/2024

Cats like popping plastic too!

09/09/2024

Walking the Burren

08/09/2024

Very much enjoyed a hike out this way today..

06/09/2024

Flat out in the heat of the day!
Cleo has the luxury of growing up and imitating her Mama in every way....

21/08/2024

Celebrating our ancient heritage here in the Burren, The Caherconnell Stone Fort Furnace Festival presents an enchanting weekend for families, highlighting the art of medieval forging and iron smelting at the picturesque Caherconnell Stone Fort in the heart of the Burren.
Over 50 skilled blacksmiths and traditional iron smelters from Ireland, the UK, Europe, and the USA are set to participate in this engaging event.
The festival is designed to delight attendees of all ages, encompassing an Open Air Museum that narrates the captivating history of Irish iron production, accompanied by complimentary guided tours. The momentous “birth of iron” stands as an extraordinary and exhilarating spectacle that should not be overlooked.

Book Tickets here:

https://caherconnell.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/42760?catID=42829

Visit Clare The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark Cliffs of Moher Experience Heritage Week Irish Heritage University of Galway Clare FM Clare County Council Wild Atlantic Way Michael Cusack Centre Burren Lowlands Corofin Tidy Towns/Na Bailte Slachtmhara Chora Finne & Past Times History Ireland Burren National Park Discover Ireland

21/08/2024

Two sections of a popular walking trail at the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare, will be closed later this week so that works planned for later in the year can be carried out in the coming weeks. A total of 5,500 metres of the walking route will be closed to the public from this […]

20/08/2024

I love this walk, must do it again soon

15/08/2024

Curious kitten fascinated by Bees....she's curious about everything and loves the cat toy supplied by kind previous guests for previous cat Mr Flax 🙀

10/08/2024

Lovely to hear the flute and others today!
All we needed was Kiernan Jorden for some dancing!

10/08/2024

Musicians enjoying the sunshine for The Feakle Festivsl 2024!

25/07/2024

I ❤️❤️❤️ Linnan's

25/07/2024

West Clare is worth a look too, when you stay in equally beautiful East Clare! Check out the link below
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/8hvwyRTJF6ymGM6W/

25/07/2024

If your into self catering come stay

21/07/2024

Out for a quiet walk on the otherside of Lehinch beach!

04/07/2024

One of my succulent plants has just sprouted these incredible flowers!

25/06/2024

Druid cottage welcome the new and very sweet Cat Family!

04/06/2024

You never know who you will meet who is inquisitive enough to sniff your hair and be so interested in a phone, on a beautiful nearby walk...

04/06/2024

I love this walk, thanks for post, it's inspired me to go to Gort, been too long since I've done this walk....

02/06/2024

On a walk near cottage this evening, I see a Drumlin or maybe a megalithic fort. The sunshine which we enjoyed over 3 days had faded but it was still warm with the scent of freshly cut grass.

13/05/2024

Ring Forts of Ireland

Irish ring forts are some of the most common ancient monuments remaining in Ireland today, once homes to many different clans and families, there are estimated to be over fifty thousand of these fortifications scattered in every corner of the country. Modern research is beginning to indicate that not all of them, or even the majority of them, were simple circular stone walls. They might also have been tower halls, like Scottish brochs, with great inward-leaning walls and a roof overhead, supported by a roof-tree.

They go by many names in Irish, such as rath, caiseal or castle, cathair or settlement, dún or fortress, and lios. Some date back to the bronze age but it is believed that most were constructed during the iron age, remaining in use until about 800 AD. They may have had earthen baks built up around them, complete with a wooden wall above that, lending further credence to the idea that these were closer to brochs in their original shape, although they might have been used as cattle pens after they collapsed.

Underneath and around these forts could be found souterrains, low tunnels and crawlspaces which enabled the inhabitants to escape in case invaders made it inside. These led to chambers or caves and to escape routes into the nearby wilderness. It is no coincidence that there were mostly added around the time of the worst of the Viking depredations!

Ring forts can be quite small, in size, or up to a hundred meter across, and their former inhabitants have left behind items associated with every human endeavour, from craftsmanship to trade to raising a family.

The idea that many of these ring forts might have been brochs or tower halls is founded upon several observations.

To begin with, a ruined broch and an Irish ring fort are almost identical, right down to the hollow walls in several examples - a feature not usually associated with defensive walls. Almost all of the Scottish brochs look like supposed ring forts now, besides the most remote examples, because locals carted away their plentiful unmortared drystone and used it for field walls, farmhouses and other buildings. It is reasonable to assume a similar fate befell Irish halls.

The idea that they were used as livestock pens, at least initially, runs into trouble because it would be almost impossible to fit an animal wider than a human being into their single defensible entryway, unless the Irish had developed some sort of tackle and winch apparatus to haul live cattle over and back in the mornings and evenings. In terms of defence, the low, uncrenellated walls would have difficulty keeping out a determined wolf, let alone armed raiders, of which there was no shortage even before the Vikings arrived.

Although we look at ring forts today and see nice, neat, levelled walls, most of those were badly reconstructed in the 19th century by enthusiasts with no clear idea what they were doing.

Many ring forts have a central stone platform which is usually listed as "building" despite being only a meter or two across. Rather tight quarters for a building, but an excellent foundation for the central pillar or roof tree of a tower hall! If one wanted to build a hearthstone there are many better and easier ways of doing it than hauling in and embedding a massive slab of rock.

These broch-ring-forts could easily have been designed with internal wooden stairs and walkways, which would not have survived either their demise or the intervening millennia and centuries. And then we have the continued references to towers in Irish mythology, such as at Tory Island, Túr na Rí, the Tower of the king.

Read more here: https://emeraldisle.ie/ring-forts

13/05/2024

13/05/2024