Boa Island
Boa Island (from Irish Badhbha)[1][2] is an island near the north shore of Lower Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.[3] It is 16 mi (26 km) from Enniskillen town.[4]
It is the largest island in Lough Erne,
Boa Island features a counterscarp rath (grid ref: H0744 6250) as well as carved stones, graveyard and enclosure (grid ref: H0852 6197), all in Dreenan townland and all Scheduled Historic Monuments.[8] The Lustymore stone figure was moved here in 1939 from the nearby island of the same name. The oldest stone monument on the island is a denuded cairn at Inishkeeragh Bridge near the southern tip of the island.[4]
Name of the island
Boa Island is named after
Stone figures
The Caldragh graveyard on Boa Island contains two
The larger of the figures is the Boa Island bilateral figure. It is regarded as one of the most enigmatic and remarkable stone figures in Ireland.
The Boa Island bilateral figure is 73 cm (29 in) high, 45 cm (18 in) wide on its two broader surfaces, and 30 cm (12 in) wide on its two narrow surfaces.[9] Each side of the figure has a face and torso. On the sides of the stone where the two carved figures are joined, is an interlace design that may represent hair. The faces are large and ovals, with big eyes, straight noses, and half open mouths with protruding tongues above pointed chins.[citation needed]
The figure has no neck, with its head resting directly on its torso. The torso is a square block with hunched shoulders, crossed arms, and a belt.[3][4] The figure ends just below its waist.[9] The lower section of the figure—two hands with elongated fingers carved in relief—was broken away from the top part at an unknown time in the past. This base was recently discovered half-buried in the ground close to the figure.[4]
In the top of the bilateral figure is carved a deep indentation of unknown purpose, and tourists often place small mementos in it for good luck. Fears of damage from freeze-thaw erosion have motivated authorities to provide a canopy over the statue.[citation needed]
The
The Lustymore Idol was discovered in an early Christian graveyard on Lustymore Island,[3][9] located due south of Boa Island in Lower Lough Erne. It was brought to the Caldragh graveyard on Boa Island in 1939.[7] It is placed with its back to the indigenous bilateral figure. Lacking details of the facial features, it is less impressive visually,[4] and is approximately 70 cm (28 in) in height.[9] It is, however, thought to be older than the bilateral 'Janus' figure – which is less worn than the Lustymore figure. Irish archaeologist Eileen Murphy states in Warrior Women (2002) that the Lustymore Idol is thought by some Irish scholars to be the precursor to Sheela na gigs: her arms lie across the torso and point toward the inverted V that represents the top of the vulva (page 204). A Sheela-na-gig is a female figure with enlarged genitals held open by her hands. Note the current offerings to the statue in the photograph above.
The reasons for creating these stone sculptures and the dates of their creation are not certain. They may have been part of
These comparisons suggest that the figure may date to the Iron Age. However, early Christian sites around Lough Erne are rich in these types of figures.[3] An example is the White Island collection of figures found 3 mi (4.8 km) south east of Boa Island,[4] which are primitive looking, but date from the early Christian period.[13]
Plane crash
On 9 January 1944, a Royal Air Force Consolidated PBY Catalina (FP193) flying boat departed RAF Killadeas on a bombing exercise. The aircraft crashed into the lough near the island after the crew lost control during a turn. Seven of the ten crewmen died in the crash.[14]
References
- ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
- ^ ISBN 0-7171-3664-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h The Chrono Centre, Queen's University Belfast. "Boa Island – Carved figures – Lower Lough Erne". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-288057-8.
- ISBN 0-7171-2887-3.
- ^ FermanaghLakelands.com. "Find Fermanagh" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ a b c "Boa". Culture Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ "Scheduled Historic Monuments (to 15 October 2012)" (PDF). NI Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-33687-2.
- ^ McKee, Linda (17 April 2007). "Fury over plan to relocate historic statue". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ Irish Writers Online. "Francis Harvey". Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ The Chrono Centre, Queen's University Belfast. "The Tanderagee Idol". Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ISBN 0-415-04889-3.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Consolidated Catalina IB (PBY-5B) FP193 Boa Island, Lough Erne".
Sources
- Ó Hogain, Dáithí. "Patronage & Devotion in Ancient Irish Religion". History Ireland, volume 8, no. 4, winter 2000. JSTOR 27724824
- Rynne, Etienn. "Celtic Stone Idols in Ireland". In: Thomas, Charles. The Iron Age in the Irish Sea province: papers given at a C.B.A. conference held at Cardiff, January 3 to 5, 1969. London: Council for British Archaeology, 1972
- Waddell, John. The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland. Galway: Galway University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-1-8698-5739-4
- Warner, Richard. "Two pagan idols – remarkable new discoveries". Archaeology Ireland, volume 17, no. 1, 2003
External links
- Panorama of the Boa Island and Lustymore figures, The Irish Times
- Landscapes Unlocked – Aerial footage from the BBC Sky High series explaining the physical, social, and economic geography of Northern Ireland
- Google Earth view