| Browse by Categories |
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
Accommodation ~ Hotels
~
B&B ~ Self Catering ~ Hostels
~
Restaurants
Property ~
Business Listings ~
Attractions ~
Activities
~
Maps |
Knockma ~
Corofin |
|
Knockma the great 'Hill of Maeve' is situated 2km west of
Belclare. Maeve the legendary Queen of Connacht is reputed
to be buried in the Cairns on the summit of the hill from
which one of the greatest panoramic views in Ireland may be
obtained.
The walk from
Castlehackett at the base of Knockma, around
the hill, to the top and back down is approx 4km. |
 |
| |
Tradition also points to Knockma as the home of fairy
legend. Two of the three cairns on top of Knockma are said
to be the resting places of Maeve and Ceasair. Knockma is
also said to be the place where Finvarra (Finnbheara), the
King of the Connacht faeries, holds court.
This partially wooded hill contains examples of the famous
Burren flora, the Spring Gentian and the Purple Helleborine
to name but two species. From the summit of Knockma may be
obtained one of the grandest panoramic views in Ireland.
Several new discoveries on the "fairy" hill of Knockma in
north Galway suggest that it was a significant ceremonial
area dating from Neolithic times, according to two
archaeologists.
The 552-ft. high Knockma (from the Irish "cnoc mag", the
hill of the plain), is best known as home of Finvarra, king
of the Connacht fairies, while Queen Maeve of Connacht is
reputed to have been buried there. |
| |
 |
The limestone
summit, which commands views of
Galway Bay the Burren,
Lough Corrib and Cong, is marked by four stone cairns which may be
passage tombs.
The central cairn is said
to have been the burial place of Noah's granddaughter
Ceasair, and bears her name, translated as "Carn Ceasra". |
| |
Another of the cairns was remodelled as "Finvarra's Castle".
There are several additional cairns farther down and the
general area is rich in archaeological features ranging in
date from the later Mesolithic (6,000-7,000BC) to early
pre-Christian periods.
Archaeologists Nora Brennan and Michael Gibbons have
recently discovered several new tombs and the remains of a
hill fort on a subsidiary ridge to the east of Knockma.
|
 |
A similar hill fort was recorded on nearby Knockcarrigeen
hill during the course of the Galway Archaeological Survey,
and this hill fort encloses two passage tombs.
Dating of finds has also been complicated by the fact that
the Kirwan family, one of
Galway's "tribes", is believed to
have engaged in some remodelling of monuments.
The family built its base at Castlehackett at the foot of
Knockma during the 18th. century. As a result of the
interference, several of the cairns on the hill were given a
"step-like" profile. The Kirwans also built follies from
them and laid out a "new conceptual landscape" during the
18th. and 19th. centuries.
A recent history of the Kirwans of Castlehacket suggests
that Knockma is as significant as Uisneach, County Westmeath, Newgrange and Loughcrew, County Meath, and that its cairns were
originally passage chambers which were aligned with ritual
significance. |
| |
|
|
|
|
