Ard na Caithne
| Ard na Caithne Smerwick |
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| Town | |
 Ard na Caithne
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Kerry |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | Q347072 |
Ard na Caithne (Irish pronunciation: [ˈaːɾˠd̪ˠ nˠə ˈkanʲə]), meaning height of the arbutus or strawberry tree, formerly known as Smerwick in English, in the heart of the Kerry Gaeltacht is one of the principal bays of Corca Dhuibhne. It is nestled at the foot of An Triúr Deirfiúr and Cnoc Bhréanainn, which at 952 metres (3,123 ft) is the highest mountain in the Brandon group. Bounded by the villages of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Baile na nGall and Ard na Caithne itself, the area is what has been known as the Fíor-Ghaeltacht, or true Gaeltacht, in recent decades.
Ard na Caithne (old anglicised form Ardnaconnia) was also known in Irish as Iorras Tuaiscirt ("north peninsula") and Gall-Iorras ("peninsula of the strangers").
Contents
Early Christian history
Ard na Caithne has a significant place in both the history of south-west Munster and Ireland. The early Christian Gallarus Oratory and Mainistir Riaisc monastic site nearby are central archeological and tourist attractions.[citation needed]
Desmond Rebellions - Dún an Óir
James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald landed a small papal invasion force in July 1579, initiating the second Desmond rebellion, but was killed a month later. On 10 September 1580, a force of Italian and Spanish papal troops combined with both Irish and English forces numbering over 600 commanded by Sebastiano di San Giuseppi landed to support the rebellion carrying a banner blessed by the Pope bearing the coat of arms of Fitzmaurice and occupied Dún an Óir ('Fort of the Gold'), an Iron age Promontory fort located near the harbour.
The force was accompanied by Dr Sanders, a religious zealot bearing the respect and backing of many of the Catholic kings and princes of Europe. This precipitated the Siege of Smerwick, which culminated with their surrender to English forces under the command of Lord Grey. They were all massacred on the spot immediately after the surrender was complete. The killing was later brought against Raleigh as one of the charges at his trial; he avoided conviction by pleading that he had to obey the orders of his superior officer.[1]
Ard na Caithne Harbour
The harbour where Fitzmaurice's invasion force landed was also the landfall of the returning transatlantic expedition of Sir Martin Frobisher in 1578.[2]
Piaras Feiritéar
In the nearby Caisleán an Fheirtéaraigh lived the famous 17th-century poet and Hiberno-Norman lord Piaras Feiritéar. Feiritéar's life was anything but uninteresting and in both his poetry and actions he won enormous support and honour from his community. He was executed at the hands of the Cromwellians in Killarney in 1653, following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, for his part in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. His death was known in the region, and he remains a folk hero in the local community today.[citation needed]
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An Triúr Deirféar1.JPG
View towards America from An Triúr Deirféar.
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Signpost, Ard na Caithne.JPG
Signpost, Ard na Caithne.
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An Triúr Deirféar2.JPG
View towards Spain from An Triúr Deirféar.
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View over Ard na Caithne1.JPG
View over Ard na Caithne harbour from An Triúr Deirféar.
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View over Ard na Caithne2.JPG
View over Ard na Caithne harbour.
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View over Ard na Caithne3.JPG
View over Ard na Caithne (with the bay in the background).
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Slí go Trá Béal Bán.JPG
Entrance to Béal Bán Strand, Ard na Caithne.
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Dún an Óir10.JPG
Memorial to Spanish and Italian soldiers who perished in November 1580 at Dún an Óir, Ard na Caithne.
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DúnanÓir3.JPG
Gort na Gearradh ("field of the cuttings") & Gort na gCeann ("field of the heads"), Dún an Óir, site of the 1580 massacre.
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Dún an Óir0.JPG
Dún an Óir.
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DúnanÓir10.JPG
Gort na Gearradh ("field of the cuttings") & Gort na gCeann ("field of the heads"), Dún an Óir, site of the 1580 massacre.
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DúnanÓir2.JPG
Gort na Gearradh ("field of the cuttings") & Gort na gCeann ("field of the heads"), Dún an Óir, site of the 1580 massacre.
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DúnanÓir30.JPG
Dún an Óir.
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DúnanÓir4.JPG
Dún an Óir.
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DúnanÓir5.JPG
Dún an Óir.
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Bruighean an Dúna.JPG
Bruighean an Dúna, Ard na Caithne.
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Remains of Caisleán an Fheirtéaraigh, castle of the poet Piaras Feiritéar, An Baile Uachtarach Thiar.
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Remains of Caisleán an Fheirtéaraigh (in the distance), castle of the poet Piaras Feiritéar, An Baile Uachtarach Thiar.
See also
References
- ↑ Desmond Rebellions - Dún an Óir, libraryireland.com; accessed 28 September 2015.
- ↑ Discovery of Martin Frobisher's Baffin Island "ore" in Ireland, nrcresearchpress.com; accessed 28 September 2015.
External links
- Entry, Irelandscape.com; accessed 28 September 2015.
