Scattery Island
| Scattery Island | ||
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| Waters | Shannon | |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 36 '45 " N , 9 ° 31' 9" W | |
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| length | 1.6 km | |
| width | 740 m | |
| surface | 76.1 ha | |
| Highest elevation | 14 m | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Scattery Island ( Irish : Inis Cathaigh ) is a small, now uninhabited island in the Shannon estuary , which can be reached by boat from Cappa Pier near Kilrush in County Clare in the west of the Republic of Ireland . Cappagh Pier is a rocky beach with a small pier and a harbor. The island was named after a monster from Irish mythology.
The structures
St. Senan, who died and is buried here in 544, founded a monastery of the Iroschottischen Church in the first half of the 6th century . One of his students was St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise . The most striking part of the monastery is the round tower . The unusual thing about the 35 m high tower is that its entrance is at ground level. To the east of the tower is the cathedral, a church with an ante and a horizontal lintel. In the 13th or 14th century, south and east windows were added. To the north is a Romanesque church from the 12th century. On a ridge north of the main group of buildings is the Senan Temple, a medieval structure with an old cross-slab and an Ogham stone . To the southwest of the round tower is the "Church of the Hill of Angels", where, as the "Legend of the Cathach" claims, St. Senan was brought by an angel before he defeated the monster Cata. The old church, to which a medieval building was added, is badly damaged. The "Church of the Dead", dated to the 14th century, is located near the east bank.
history
The monastery was devastated by the Vikings in 816 and 835 and the island was at least temporarily occupied by them. Between 972 and 975 it was again owned by Brian Boru . In 1057 and 1176 the island was sacked again and in 1179 the churches were desecrated by William Hoel, an Englishman. At that time, the monastery became part of the Diocese of Limerick , previously the island had become the seat of a diocese at the Synod of Kells in 1152 , which was now united with the Diocese of Limerick, but still exists today as the titular diocese Inis Cathaig . The Normans took over the church in the 13th century. 1359 appointed Pope Innocent VI. from Avignon a bishop who was not recognized by the local clergy. The monastery regained importance as a college church in the 14th and 15th centuries, but was destroyed in the Elizabethan period (1558-1603). Around 1577 a castle was built on the island, which is almost completely demolished today. In 1588 the Spanish Armada lay in front of the island. In 1825 the island came into private ownership, was settled and at times had around 100 residents.
Trivia
Newly built boats circumnavigated the island on their first voyage as a token of respect. The sailors took pebbles from the coast with them to avert danger.
literature
- Aubrey Gwynn and R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X .
- Peter Harbison : Guide to National and Historic Monuments of Ireland . 3rd ed. Gill & Macmillan Publ., Dublin 1992, ISBN 0-7171-3239-0 .