Grianán from Aileach
Grianán von Aileach ( Irish Grianán Ailigh , English Grianán of Aileach ) is the name of a restored stone fort in County Donegal in the northwest of the Republic of Ireland , about 10 km west of the Northern Irish city of Derry . The Grianán of Aileach was a historical center of culture and politics in the time of the early Irish rulers (800 BC to 1,200 AD). The ring fort on Mount Greenan ( Grianán ) was the seat of the kings of Aileach . The kingdoms of Ulaidh and Airgíalla were sub-kingdoms under the rule of Aileach.
Grianán von Aileach is a ring fort that was built in place of an old hill fort. The Grianán was the residence of the Uí Néill in the 5th century and later owned by the O'Donnell clan. By the 12th century (around 1177) the kingdom of Aileach had lost a large part of its lands to the Normans , with which the stone fort also lost importance and was finally destroyed by an army under Muirchertach Ua Briain (King of Munster). The fort overlooks the Inishowen Peninsula to the north. Today you can visit the main ramparts, which have a diameter of 23 meters. Other parts of the fort were destroyed, but were authentically restored in the 19th century (around 1870 ). It is an Irish national monument .
Legends
An Irish creation myth claims that this fort was built by the great King Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann around his son's tomb. It is said that St. Patrick baptized the founder of the O'Neill dynasty, Owen, here in 450 .
literature
- Peter Harbison : Guide to the Naional Monuments in the Republic of Ireland Gill and Macmillan, Dublin 1975 ISBN 0-7171-0275-0 p. 68
Web links
- County Donegal on the Internet (Engl.) ( Memento on 10 August 2009 at the Internet Archive )
- Description + picture
Coordinates: 55 ° 1 ′ 25.75 " N , 7 ° 25 ′ 39.72" W.