I have not been there and I want to go this Summer.

 There are the impressive Iron Age stone forts at Dun Aengus on Inishmor, and Dun Conchuir on Inishmaan which are particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about the people who built these structures allowing you to contemplate the people who once roamed and worked here. Some of the earliest monastic settlements were also founded here by St Eanna in the late 4th and 5th centuries. The monastic remnants date from the 8th century.

The most striking of views in the islands is the criss-crossing of intricate stone walls across the fields. Built thousands of years ago they create small sheltered areas from the strong wind, and provide an unusual, unique landscape.

The islands' isolation allowed Irish culture to survive when it had been put under so much pressure from foreign influence. Irish is still the native tongue, and the traditional Aran dress has only recently ceased to be habitually worn. The Islands have been a major part of many young Irish peoples' lives. Many in the Western areas are sent there to learn Gaelic (Irish language) during the school holidays, and some have fond memories of a rural lifestyle that was preserved far beyond the habits of the mainland. Playwright John Millington Synge learnt his Irish here, and wrote about its people in the play Riders to the Sea. Generations of families have tales of local storytellers, and dancers in the bars, as well as the beauty of the place where they learnt the intricacies of their language.

Great news! This arrived in the post today - I've won lots of money!


(click for larger version)

All I've got to do is Fax them all my details including a copy of my passport/driving licence and Next of Kin  and I'm rich!

Think I'll send them the passwords for all my online accounts while I'm at it, just to make sure I get all the money 

 

PS Don't worry, t-p - note Andy's  !!!

Ho!  An ongoing scam.

http://www.northeastfraudforum.co.uk/documents/La%20Primitiva%20June%202007.jpg

T-I-N,
I don't know anything about the leprechaun and the pot of gold.
I foud this picture on the net.

Mean looking character and may be thrown to the grumpy room.
What kind of legend it this?
I should read Irish legends. I saw them in the book shop.

While the vast majority of peasants in the west of Ireland were nominally Catholic, they often did not practice Catholicism in the traditional way. Especially in the West where priest were few, most people did not attend mass or confession regularly. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, many people expressed their devotion through religious customs outside the Church. The belief in fairies, leprechauns, and banshees was common. Pilgrimages to holy wells were frequent. Fairies were generally considered malevolent, although they sometimes performed beneficial functions. Leprechauns (little corp body) were small mischievous male spirits. Banshees (bean sidhe  woman of the fairies) warned of approaching death with unearthly wails.

In the 1861 census, which was the first to ask about religion, 89% of the population was Catholic.

The Church became more of a presence in western Ireland in the mid to latter part of the 1800s. The relaxation of the Penal Laws enabled the Church to build new churches and establish schools. Starting in the mid to late 1800s, priests and nuns controlled the education of most of the Catholic population. The priests condemned traditional wakes, fairy believes, crossroads dancing, and other ancient practices, and encouraged devotions such as the Way of the Cross, novenas, the veneration of the Sacred Heart, parish altar societies, sodalities, confraternities, and temperance associations.

Dublin born artist Rachel Arbuckle has always been fascinated by our Celtic hertitage. Inspiration found in the intricate knotwork adorning the ancient manuscripts, stone and metalwork, coupled with Rachel's love of a good story, have combined to produce some of the most popular images in contemporary Irish Celtic art. Mythological warriors rub shoulders with ancient historical figures and intertwine with animals, birds and fish rendered in the artist's unique style.

Story: The image of the peacock can be found in many cultures and traditions. The early Celts looked to the beasts of the earth, sky and sea in an attempt to understand life and believed animals taught them how to live in harmony with Nature itself. The peacock appeared as a symbol of beauty, paradise, rebirth. pride amd the incorruptibility of the soul. It also tells the story of the heavens and the rays of the sun. The Legend had it, the peacock's flesh did not putrefy, so the Celts considered it a symbol of the Resurrection and everlasting life. Hence, it is widely used throughout early Christian Celtic manuscripts as a representation of Christ.