Rinn an Chaisleáin
Castle Point
Great Blasket's lower village, with Castle Point in the foreground
Typecastle site, cillín
LocationGreat Blasket Island, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland
Coordinates52°06′19″N 10°30′40″W / 52.105299°N 10.511022°W / 52.105299; -10.511022
Official nameRínn an Chaisleáin Church site[1]
Reference no.63
Rinn an Chaisleáin is located in Ireland
Rinn an Chaisleáin
Location of Rinn an Chaisleáin in Ireland

Rinn an Chaisleáin or Castle Point is a National Monument on Great Blasket Island, Ireland.

Location

Rinn an Chaisleáin is located directly north of Great Blasket's "Lower Village", to the west of the harbour.[2]

History

From the end of the 13th Century the Norman-Irish Feiritéar (Ferriter) family leased the Blaskets from the Earls of Desmond (apparently in exchange for two hawks per year[3]), and later from the Boyle Earls of Cork.[4] Rinn an Chaisleáin was originally the site of a castle built by the Ferriters.

In 1840 a Protestant "soup-school" was built using the stones from the castle ruins; it closed in 1852.[5]

Rinn an Chaisleáin remained in use as a calluragh (unconsecrated burial ground). All island families traced their ancestry to either Dunquin or Ventry, and so were buried on the mainland to rest with their families. In times of bad weather the island would be cut off from the mainland, and corpses remained unburied, sometimes for weeks. In extremis, bodies would be buried at Rinn an Chaisleáin. It was also used for the burial of unbaptised infants, suicides and shipwrecked sailors.[6][7][8]

Some of the burial sites are marked by stones.

References

  1. ↑ "National Monuments in State Care: Ownership & Guardianship : Kerry" (PDF). National Monuments Service (Ireland). 4 March 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Coyne, Frank (February 2010). "Archaeological Assessment & Instrument Survey on the Great Blasket Island, Co. Kerry" (PDF). Ægis Archaeology Limited.
  3. ↑ Hayes, Gerald (4 May 2018). The Blasket Islandman: The Life and Legacy of Tomás Ó Criomhthain. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781788410397 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "The Blasket Islands - Dingle - A Visitors Guide to the Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne) in County Kerry, Ireland from Dingle Peninsula Tourism". www.dingle-peninsula.ie.
  5. ↑ "Blasket Islands (Co. Kerry) – Page 2 – Ireland Byways". irelandbyways.com.
  6. ↑ Hayes, Gerald; Kane, Eliza (20 April 2015). The Last Blasket King. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781848898875 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Fennelly, Anita (3 March 2010). Blasket Spirit: Stories from the Islands. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781848890756 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Carney, Michael; Hayes, Gerald (5 April 2013). From the Great Blasket to America. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781848891142 – via Google Books.
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