Carnfree
Carnfree (Irish Carn Fraoich, Fráech's cairn) is a site south of the village of Tulsk in Roscommon that also lies close to the more celebrated ancient landscape of Rathcroghan. The chief feature here is the bronze-age mound of Carnfree itself, believed to be the cairn of the Connacht warrior Fráech, that was used as an inauguration place up to late medieval times. It also encompasses an area known as Selc featuring Duma Selga (The mound of Selc) and the ecclesiastical site where Saint Patrick baptised the Ui Brian princes of Connacht, who according to the saint's biography may have resided in or administrated from this area.
Mythology
Carnfree
This mound and area is associated with the
Duma Selga
The
Carn Lámha
Carn Lámha translates to mound of the hand. There were later versions of the Carn Fraoich tale that mention a mound nearby where the warriors hand was buried.[1]
History
Carnfrees' importance is documented in the
Main Sites
Carnfree Mound
It is a small mound about one and a half meters high that sinks slightly at the top and is covered on one side by a dressing of stone. Up until the mid-nineteenth century a proclamation stone stood nearby that featured two sunken footprints, the stone now resides at Clonalis House near Castlerea.
Duma Selga
The location of this mound has been disputed. A Bronze Age mound, unaltered and perfectly round with a diameter of 21 metres, was believed to be the site. However it is now seen to be the mound that's included in a conjoined earthwork. This mound dished at the top is surrounded by a wide bank joined to a ringfort. It is again very similar to the central feature at the hill of Tara and is a likely location for the royal place of the Uí Briúin. The round topped mound originally believed to be Duma Selga may in fact be Carn Lámha.
Ecclesiastical site (Patricks base at Selc)
Believed to be the campsite where Patrick and his clergy slept while meeting the Ui Brion. Now there are remains of the base of a rectangular building thought to be a
Cloch Fada na gCarn (The long stone of Cairns)
There are a number of ring barrows in this region, the most prominent being this one that is a large ring barrow with a standing stone that's nearly 3m high. The diameter of the monument is 36m and there is also a fallen stone nearby that's over 3 and a half meters long. Other ring barrows measure between 9 and 20 meters.
Sources
- "Rathcroghan and Carnfree", Michael Herity, 1991.
- "The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland", John Waddell, 1998.
- "Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100–1600: a cultural landscape study", Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, 2004.[1]
- "The Metrical Dindshenchas Volume 3-Poem 64, edited and translated by Edward J. Gwynn [2]
- "The Prose Tales from the Rennes Dindshenchas Part 2-Poem 71, edited and translated by Whitley Stokes [3]
- "The Metrical Dindshenchas Volume 3-Poem 70, edited and translated by Edward J. Gwynn [4]
References
- ^ Elizabeth Fitzpatrick 2004: Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100–1600: a cultural landscape study p. 65
- ^ Michael Herity 1991:Rathcroghan and Carnfree p. 26 (quote taken from the Annals of Connacht)
- ^ Michael Herity 1991:Rathcroghan and Carnfree p. 32 (quote taken from Tírechán's Memoir of St. Patrick)