Day 5 - Donovan Clan Archaeology Tour of West Cork

An updated version of the site can be found here

June 26, 2000
The archaeology tour was great!














First stop:

Gurranes Stone Row

Gurranes Stone Row (The Three Fingers)


Originally five standing stones all in alignment, three are now standing. A broken forth stone is on the ground in the place where it fell, and the fifth was moved and is now at the Sommerville Estate located near Castletownshend. The stones are located near Castletownshend. Click here for a map.


2nd stop:
Knockdrum Ring Fort at Castlehaven

The inside of Knockdrum Fort

This is my only picture, and I don't know why. Knockdrum is a restored Ring Fort featuring 3 souterrains, it is located next to the The Three Fingers. I can only assume I didn't take anymore pictures because it was a "restored" Ring Fort. I know that picture isn't impressive, but it really is an interesting site. You can read more here.




3rd Stop:
Castle Ivor

Castle Ivor

Located near Union Hall village overlooking Lake Cluhir , this is all that remains of the first Donovan castle of our tour (a couple of walls) built in 1251. It was raining very hard, so we didn't get out of the bus. That's why the picture is blurry. Somehow it seems suitable for someone said to have a Ghost Ship. Read all about Ivor and his ship here.

Next Stop:
Castle Rasheen

Castle Rasheen as viewed from the water

Places like this are why tourists come to Ireland. The castle stands largely intact on the eastern bank on Glandore Harbor (the village of Catletownshend is across the Harbor). After the fall of Castle Donovan, this became the main Donovan castle protecting trade interests in the harbor.  You can read more about it here.
















This is one of many cannonballs that Cromwell left lodged in the side of the castle during his invasion of Ireland. Many others are still in the side of the tower.

The eastern wall of Castle Rasheen

A panoramic view of the Castle:

Stop #5:
O'Donovan Rossa's Birthplace

O'Donovan Rossa's Birthplace

Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa was a poster boy of sorts for Irish Republicanism. He was elected to the House of Commons while in prison and perhaps is most remembered for the speech Pádraig Pearse gave at his funeral. He was born in Rosscarbery, basically on the street behind the Celtic Ross Hotel. This plaque is on the wall of the building:







Stop 6:
Coppinger's Court

Coppinger's Court

My photo doesn't do it justice, but this was a fortified mansion built in the early 1600s. It is said to have had a window for every day of the year, a chimney for every week of the year, and a door for every month of the year. The house was damaged during the 1641 rebellion, but much of the building still stands. It's located in the townland of Ballyvireen about 2 miles west of Rosscarbery.





Lucky #7:
Drombeg Stone Circle

Drombeg Stone Circle

This stone circle (arguably Ireland's most famous) is wonderful, but busy. It's located very close to Rosscarbery and well signposted off the main road. Unlike the other stone circles that I have visited, this one also has a communal cooking pit (where they were able to heat up to 70 gallons of water in 15 minutes! -- they used this to cook and tenderize meat) as well as the foundations of two Neolithic  houses. The summer solstice had occurred earlier in the week and you can see the remnants of some flowers that were left in the center of the circle. Stone circles are one my favorite things in the world. If you have any interest in stone circles, I have to recommend Aubrey Burl's fantastic book, A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. I take this with me whenever I visit Britain or Ireland, it has good directions and a write-up on each of the circles. Just click on the picture of the book below:
After we got back from the Archaeology tour, we went to the meeting for the Younger O'Donovans in Skibbereen. It was outstanding to spend time with all of the younger members of the clan. Áine informed the pub that we were 14th cousins, so I'm putting that in my genealogy worksheets.