Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 02:04:45 JST Infoseepage

   Bonus castle for today. Here are the ruinous remains of Clonmacnoise castle. Huge chunks of the castle have fallen away intact and just out at odd angles, held together by 700 year old mortar. The castle sits atop very substantial earthworks and guarded a wooden bridge crossing of the Shannon river next to the castle. At the time, this was a much more significant crossing point of the Shannon than Athlone and the large monastic complex of Clonmacnoise lies just next door.

   #Ireland #castles

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 03:06:03 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     I've got more pictures of this one from the other sides, which are more interesting, but they're on a different camera which I haven't offloaded yet.

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 03:14:21 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     In the meantime, check out Clanmacnoise, one of Ireland's oldest and most substantial monastic sites. It has, among other things, two round towers, three high crosses and they've pulled literally hundreds of cross slabs out of the ground which got covered over the EONS this site has been in use.

     The originals have been moved inside for conservation and can be seen here. Replicas sit in the original locations within the monastic site.

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 03:19:40 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     I didn't have as much time at Clanmacnoise as I wished, as the 850 bus only runs every three hours and staying on longer would have meant being there until past eight, but I got some good snaps quickly without having to wait for people to move out of frame too much. There were only about a dozen people on site while I was there. In the summer, the place is a mad house according to the OPW person I rode the bus back with.

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 03:25:11 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     Walked my feet off today. Did ~15k steps today with my camera gear bag. Eating dinner almost flat in bed I'm so stiff. Hope you enjoyed the photos and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

     #Ireland #Clonmacnoise

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 04:13:11 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     Here are those additional pictures I promised. Wish I could have gotten closer, but the site is surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire.

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 04:17:27 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     Bit hard to interpret given how ruined it has gotten and from looking up from the bottom of the earthworks.

     This particular satellite image gives a better idea. Looks like you had rectangular keep at the southeast corner connected to a rectangular curtain wall with a tower/hall with a peaked roof at the nw. Maybe a separate great hall?

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 04:21:13 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     The moat would have been flooded and it looks like there is a channel to the sw of the site. There looks to be two breaks in the earthworks which probably corresponded to bridges connecting the castle to the land and onward to the bridge crossing the Shannon, so that you had to cross right through/under the castle to cross (which would allow you to regulate/tax transit).

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 04:22:23 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     You probably had an earlier structure atop the motte with a stockade around the edge of the earthworks.

     I'm not going on much of any reading, just my own interpretation of the lay of the land and a panel about the bridge at the visitor center. There was next to nothing about the castle to be found.

   • Embed this notice
     Infoseepage (infoseepage@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 04:25:15 JST Infoseepage

     in reply to

     • Piggo :verified_horse:

     @piggo I've only been to 2-3 sites where such large conglomerations of stonework have come off intact. I frankly worry more about some of the crumbly places like Shrule I've visited where the stonework hasn't been attended to at all and you've got rocks just sitting loose dangling half off the decaying parapet.

     Shrule had head sized stones recently embedded in the ground scattered all about due to the recent hurricane.

   • Embed this notice
     Piggo :verified_horse: (piggo@piggo.space)'s status on Sunday, 13-Apr-2025 04:25:16 JST Piggo :verified_horse:

     in reply to
     @Infoseepage the fence seems justified in this case, that looks .. precarious. and very interesting