This Building Has No Explanation - Las Lajas Sanctuary Colombia

 Ancient Munster: Where Cork City and County are now.

            Cork was once part of the Kingdom of Deas Mumhan, which has been called South Munster, and has been called Desmond by the English. It has been ruled by the MacCarthy Mor dynasty. Who can tell us about the Mum people.

            It seems fair to call the coming of the Normans an invasion. They certainly caused changes in Munster which were not pleasant to everyone. The MacCarthy clan and much culture were pushed westward into what is West Cork and County Kerry. The clan became centered on Dunloug Castle near Mizen Head. Some have said that their castle there dates to 1207 AD. There is more to be said about tht site and the O'Mahony. We may get to them later. For us right now the coming of the Normans is a fairly recent happening.

            But we can move on to even more recent times for another paragraph. The Hiberno-Norman family became the earls of Desmond, which sounds very English. Cork, city was given an English Royal charter in 1318 and became an outpost of England. But even a diminished Irish culture is still catchy and resistant. By about 1583 the city and the county was a mess. We might say destroyed and devastated Some said that they had been resettled by some of the worst England had to offer. But even many of their offspring became a useful part of a new Ireland.

            Ireland has suffered plenty of troubles. The troubles of Normans and English entering the land I think began in about 900 AD when defending against the  viking raids from the north so weakened the land that Norman and English saw it as a tasty morsel to be taken. The viking norsemen had taken most of the gold and the more transportable, but what Norman and English saw was the rich green land itself.

            I was wanting to get into truly ancient times, but getting through the early troubles is proving difficult. Desmond was Deas Mumhan, but we now continue to speak of English influence. So, a historic kingdom in south western Ireland has been called Desmond. It was founded in 1188 by Tadhg MacCarthaigh. He became king of Munster. That Desmond included all of what is now County Cork and most of Kerry. The division of Kerry from Cork took place with the Treaty of Glanmire when the land was divided between Desmond and Thomond. The sullivan and Donovan were important there, but that is another story,`

            I have been trying to get too much early Irish history into to few paragraphs and now I am moving into some prehistory of the island.

            Earlier there were the Earinn who held al of Munster, the better half of all of Eri. I am thinking that the Iverni of that fertile land were Earinn. Many of Munster once thought of themselves as people of the deer. who drank deer milk before the coming of cows. They were probably a people called Earinn or Eirenn or the like.

            I think the MacCarthy called themselves people of the deer, but the MacCarthy may have come with the cows.

            Well, there seems to be much more Irish prehistory than I can handle in one essay. For now I'll just leave you with some bits and piece of that history and hope it gives you a taste for more. More than one sort of Greek knew Mizen Head and so did a Phoenician or two. The Fomorians knew it and probably Balor and Lugh did too.

        There were deer in the south of Ireland over 30,000 years ago. There was plenty of time for people to learn to eat them with time left over to learn to milk them.

            Early Irish were also boatmen who navigated the sea. The were probably fishers of the sea, but I have seen no evidence of that.

            Munster had an increasing population by 8,000 BC. By 5,000 BC Aegean cow milk was probably replacing deer milk. Anyway some kind of cow milk was available on the island by then.

            The copper of Old Munster was supporting the making of bronze by 2,000 BC.

            Correct my errors and help with this work. I have heard that there are those who believe that I know so much about this far south of Ireland that I must have lived there from before 20,000 years ago to about 4,000 BC. Its not true and I could really use your help to find out more about Irish prehistory.

            Thank you for reading.

                                                                                            R. C. Sheehan

Co. Kerry: First Words About What Became County Kerry

The focus here is mostly on the Dingle Peninsula of Kerry 

            Focus may be too strong a word, but I will stick with it. Not so very long ago I walked down that peninsula on a warmish winter day and back up the peninsula in the same day, so it was pretty long ago. It rained a bit, on and of, but I dried as I walked. The sun kept coming out and tried to stay for a while the air was clear and bright and often and had a lovely feel to it. I walked along the main road but there was little traffic. The idea here is that I have experienced the land a bit. So I got rained on some walking the length of the peninsula and was dry again before I got to the tip. I believe that it was an early December, it was a fine day often with a great sort of light, rare and lovely.

            The Peninsula rightly has some famous history and as I learned later rightly has some fame for its rainfall. For me it ought to be famous for the light of its air.

            By the look of things, people of Kerry liked to participate in the happenings of Ireland. By the 1920s Kerry men were being shot by Black and Tans. A crying shame. But then again they got in some proud licks. I recent centuries the Irish have been know to have been troubled more than than average. But then again they seem to have been troubled less than average for most of the time from the Mesolithic to through the Bronze Age. Things were a bit iffy during the Iron Age, but by the end of that age they were more Irish than ever. And now it is said, with some breath holding, they are doing pretty good, some would say darn good.

              About the time I walked the Peninsula people in the south were doing well, but there was still a pretty brisk business in short lengths of metal pipe. When would that have been?               

             Kerry, somehow managed to a part in much Irish rebellion. Ross Castle, near, Killarney, held long. I don't remember the story. When would that have been? I have a lot to learn and these days I seem to be forgetting more than I am learning.

              Kerry got hit hard by the Irish Famine  of 1845 to 49. Irish like many great people, got everywhere. Seems like I have heard someone say "From Killarney to Kansas." The Irish part of my family was already settled in American heartland by this time, but not in Kansas. There was another nasty famine in Ireland not very long before this one, but not so well remembered. What famine is well. All English are not always sweethearts.

                By say about 1610, most of Kerry nobility had lost their land to the English. By 1776 a great percent of the nobility had left the Island, I believe.

They were bettering the race in other lands. Good for the Irish. And no matter, they plenty of the good and better blood in the Island still alive. 

                By 1588 ships of the Spanish Armada were wrecked on islands near the tip of the Dingle Peninsula. I have heard it said that the Black Irish came to Ireland that way. I say that they may have arrived closer to 1588 BC than to 1588 

AD. Still I admit that I tend to exaggerate at times to help another to get the point. I even say that they from father off than Spain.

                I had meant to say earlier that the Hiberno-Norman Kerry Fitzgerald dynasty were called Geraldines. I meant to tell mi sister, Geraldine, that, but lost my chance.

            Stone oratories in in the county seem to date back to 500 AD. I guess that by then Ireland was Christian enough to send missionaries to England, France, and Rome by then. I saw the oritorise in photos in a book rather than on my walk. I remember that I wondered about the quality of their acoustics.

                I am not sure why, but I would like to learn more of a people called Ciar. They lived on the Peninsula and elsewhere in Kerry. I suspect that they were there when Bronze was popular. I do not remember where I got the information, but it seemed certain that they were a pre-Celtic people. They were "Black Irish." They were around long enough to have had two Irish apostoles among them. I had the fantasy that they had been around long enough to know Sheehan when we had another name or names.

            I also read somewhere that a son of Fergus mac Roich was a Ciar. I would like to find out if Fergus himself was a Ciar. Maybe tomorrow I'll check to see could have anything about that.

                Well, Ireland, Kerry, Munster and all are doing pretty well this days and these days it is not easy for everyone to do well.

                I am pleased to have anyone correct my errors, pass on more info, ask a question, or anything that won't hurt my feelings much. 

                Thank you for reading.

                                                                        Richard Carroll Sheehan

                                                                        One would never know that I am Polish, German, Prussian, Norwegian, and who knows what.

            This was to have been a draft, but I better start posting while I am able.