Inishmurray

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Inishmurray
Teampull Molaise from the north with the Atlantic and the Irish coast in the background
Teampull Molaise from the north with the Atlantic and the Irish coast in the background
Waters Atlantic Ocean
Geographical location 54 ° 25 '59 "  N , 8 ° 39' 32"  W Coordinates: 54 ° 25 '59 "  N , 8 ° 39' 32"  W.
Inishmurray (Ireland)
Inishmurray
length 1.6 km
width 800 m
surface 85 ha
Highest elevation 22  m
Residents uninhabited

Inishmurray is a now uninhabited island about 7.0 km off the coast of County Sligo , Ireland . Saint St. Molaise (or Laisren) founded a monastery on the 1600 meter long, about 800 meter wide and maximum 22 meter high island in the 6th century , which is surrounded by a much older cashel , which is considered an early church enclosure .

Inismurray, Toorybrenell Clochan
Cross-Slab by Inishmurray

A wall, some more than four meters high, the formation of which is unclear, surrounds the 55 × 42 meter district, which is divided into four areas. In the largest area is Teampull na bFhear (the men's church). A church with ante and a flat ( pre-Romanesque ) lintel. Teach Molaise is also located here , a small, primitive church with a stone roof, a straight doorway and an arched east window. Teampull na Teine , the Church of the Fire and a beehive hut are located in the northwestern enclosure . To the northwest of the wall are the women's church and about 50 stones. Some of them were used as stations during the period when the island was the destination of pilgrimages. The famous spotted curse stones (Clocha Breaca) are now in the National Museum in Dublin . The monastery was sacked by Vikings as early as 807 .

The island was inhabited for many centuries, the inhabitants lived by fishing, collecting algae and making poteen , a type of whiskey. When a Protestant schoolmaster was tried to be forced upon them, they left the island and the teacher was left alone.

Today Inishmurray is a bird sanctuary (especially for barnacle geese ) that cannot be reached in regular boat operations.

literature

  • Aubrey Gwynn , RN Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses Ireland. Longman, London, 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X .
  • Patrick Heraughty: Inishmurray - Ancient Monastic Island. O'Brien, Dublin, 1982, ISBN 0-86278-473-5 .
  • J. McGowan: Inishmurray Gale, Stone and Fire: Portrait of a fabled Island. 1998.

Web links

Commons : Inishmurray  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Aubrey Gwynn, RN Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses Ireland. P. 387.