A special train will start at a quarter before 7 a. m., from the Broadstone Terminus, upon Thursday, 3rd September. Excursionists must provide themselves with railway tickets, which can be procured gratis at the general Reception-room, and also with special tickets for the Aran Excursion from the Secretary, Mr. Armstrong, at 16 ½, D'Olier-street. The excursionists must assemble at the Railway-station at half-past 6, as it will be impossible to admit any person after a quarter to 7. The train will arrive in Galway at 11 o'clock, when luncheon will be provided, immediately after which the steamer will start for its destination, weather permitting. The Western Aran Isles, so called from the kidney-shape of the largest, are situated at the entrance of Galway Bay, between the coast of Connemara upon the north, and the county of Clare upon the southeast, and occupy a position between 53 degrees 10" north latitude, and 9 degrees 50" west longitude. They are about thirty miles from Galway Harbour, and consist of: —
The geological formation of the Aran Islands, according to the published map of Dr. Griffith, is the upper subdivision of the Carboniferous Limestone. Many of the beds contain fossils of the highest interest and great perfection. The drift is worthy of study, as it contains large rolled fragments of rocks derived from the adjoining coast of Galway, with which are scattered granite boulders, denominated by the peasantry ‘Connemara stones’. The limestone rock forms in some places tables 60 feet in length. Of the entire area of the Aran Isles, amounting to 11,288 acres, only 742 were under crops, of which 692 were sown with potatoes in 1855. The principal produce of the islands is cattle, calves, sheep, and pigs, the two former of which are reared upon the fine grass which grows between the interstices of the rocks. All the fuel, consisting of turf, is procured from the neighbouring coast of Connemara. These islands command magnificent views of the Atlantic, the entire range of the Connemara Mountains, Black Head, the cliffs of Moher, county of Clare, parts of Kerry, &c.
OBJECTS OF INTEREST.
The Western Islands of Aran contain the greatest number of Pagan and early Christian monuments — military, domestic, ecclesiastical, and sepulchral — which can be found within the same area in Europe. The military consist of DUNS or Forts, generally circular, some of which include several acres in extent; their walls, of dry masonry and cyclopean architecture, are usually 16 feet thick, and from 15 to 20 high. They are all referable to Pagan, and some of them to pre-historic times; and are believed to have been erected by the Firbolg aborigines of Ireland, who sought a refuge here after the battle of Moytura, fought many centuries before the general Christian era. These stupendous barbaric monuments afford the best exposition of early military architecture at present known, and are only equalled by some of those in Greece. There are also castles erected during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Within and around these Duns, as well as scattered throughout the island, may be seen numbers of Cloghauns, or stone-roofed dwellings of the primitive inhabitants. The sepulchral remains
FIRST DAY. — The special train provided by the Midland Great Western Railway Company will arrive in Galway at 11 o'clock, when the Claddagh fishermen will convey the party to the Vestal steamer, which has been placed at the disposal of the Director of the Excursion by the Board of Trade, on the application of Chief Baron Pigot to Lord Stanley of Alderley; the Dublin Ballast Board having kindly postponed their tour of inspection to the Irish Lighthouses, which had been arranged for the 5th inst.
Weather permitting, the Vestal will make Aranmore before 3 o'clock, and, coasting alongside the northern side of the island, land the tourists at the beech of Glenaghaun, when the following objects of interest will be visited. The ruins of Sean Chaislean, or the old castle, a square tower composed of immense stones, 35 feet long, by 28 broad, the walls 9 feet thick. In its vicinity may be seen one of the granite boulders elevated upon a stalk of limestone, similar to the stones seen on glaciers.
The group of ecclesiastical ruins, locally known as the ‘Seven Churches’, placed in a beautiful valley, through which a small stream runs, and consisting of Teampull Brecain, the Church of St. Brecan, the patron saint of this portion of the island; Teampull a Phoill, or the Church of the Hollow; the remains of a monastery, and a portion of the general wall of the enclosure, together with the tomb, bed, and well of St. Brecan; Tober-an-Spiritneeve, and the remains of two beautifully sculptured crosses discovered and restored by Mr. Wilde in 1848, one of which is now preserved beside the Aharla, or sacred enclosure; also Ballaun-a-Collagh, a prayer-well to the north of the ruins. Dun Onagh, or Eoghanacht, so called from the townland in which it is placed, is a circular fort, remarkably well built, and commanding
Dun Ængus, acknowledged to be the greatest barbaric monument of its kind which has yet been described, stands upon the ridge of the southern cliffs, 300 feet above the sea; and although now of a horse-shoe shape, appears to have been originally oval, but the falling away of the cliff has produced its present form. What remains of the fort is 142 feet in width, and 150 feet in length; it consists of three walls, the inner and outer being evidently superadded to support the centre, either in consequence of its decay or because of its insufficiency as a means of defence. Taken together, the wall of this fort is 13 feet thick, and averages 18 in height. There were originally two doorways; that on the northern side has been built up by the inner wall; the north-eastern doorway is 3 feet 4 inches in width at top, and somewhat wider at bottom; its roof is formed of large flagstones raised one above another. There is also a passage or chamber in the inner wall on the north-western side. Around this great Dun there is an extern wall, including a space of several acres; and in some parts, particularly towards the west, two other walls exist, where the ground sloping off gradually rendered the fortress more easy of access. A chevaux de frise of sharp upright stones, jammed into the surface-rocks, renders the approach in some places almost impossible. The sea front of Dun Ængus, measured between the walls of the outer enclosure, is about 1150 feet. This great monument, like many other Duns upon these islands, has been much dilapidated by persons hunting rabbits. The name of Dun Ængus is derived from Ængus (chief of the Firbolg Clann Huamor), who, with Conchovar his brother, was granted these islands by Maeve, Queen of Connaught, shortly before the general Christian era. The Ecclesiastical Ruins at Kilmurvy exhibit the best specimens of cyclopean masonry, in which hewn stones and mortar were employed, of any of the structures in the island. They consist of Teampull Mhic-Duagh, a little damhliag, divided into nave and choir, with a most remarkable cyclopean doorway; Teampull Beg, or the small Church of Saint Mac Duagh, together with the holy well of Tober-Mhic-Duagh,
The party will here re-embark, and proceed to Kilronan, the principal village on the island, where there is a harbour and quay, and where accommodation has been procured for the excursionists.
SECOND DAY. — The following objects will be visited, weather permitting : — Dubh-Chathair, the Black Fortress or City, situated on a cliff like Dun Ængus, upon the southern face of the island, and about two miles distant from Kilronan. Within and around it are the remains of a great number of Cloghauns, or the stone-roofed houses of the aborigines, showing in their ruins all the remains of an ancient Firbolgic city. The massive walls of this fort are further defended by a stone chevaux-de-frise.
Killeany, about a mile distant from Dubh-Chathair, was originally the place of most note in the island, and is called after the patron saint and first Christian colonizer of Aranmore, St. Eney or Endeus, who arrived here about the end of the fifth century. On the summit of the hill rising behind the modern village, and commanding one of the finest prospects from the island, stands Teampull Benain, the Church of St. Benignus, the gem of early Irish churches, being only 10 feet 10 inches long in the clear, and 6 feet 10 inches broad; the original height of the north-eastern gable being about 17 feet. In its vicinity are the remains of a rude cashel, containing several small chambers, probably hermits' cells, and also some rude cloghauns. In the valley beneath stands the butt of a Round Tower, and beside it St. Eney's well, a stone altar, and several other objects of like interest. Upon the sea face of the village stand the ruins of Arkin Castle, a fortress originally erected in the time of Elizabeth, and afterwards enlarged and occupied by Cromwell's soldiers, to whom is attributed the destruction of many of the ruins in this locality. The excursionists will then return by water to Kilronan, and, should time permit, visit some or all of the following ruins: — Oghill Fort, one of the finest Duns in the island, placed beside the Lighthouse, and 400 feet above the sea-level; the ecclesiastical ruins in the neighbourhood of the village of Cowragh, consisting of the Church of the Four Comely Saints, Teampull-an-Cheathrair-alainn, with their graves, pillar-stones, and holy wells, &c., the Cromlech, or Leabha Diarmuda agus Grainne;
THIRD DAY. — The steamer will take the excursionists to Inishmaan or the Middle Island, in order to visit Dun Conchobhair, or Dun Connor, one of the most remarkable examples of military architecture in the Aran group. It is an oval fort, standing on the edge of a steep cliff in the centre of the island, and is 227 feet long by 115 broad. Upon the eastern side it is surrounded by a strong external wall, the gateway of which is placed in a square fort, 51 feet by 73, and 15 feet high. In the vicinity of Dun Connor are the ruins of several churches, saints' beds, and holy wells, &c.
Should time and weather permit, the steamer will land the excursionists at Portnakilla, to visit St. Gobnet's Church, and Furmina Castle, which stands in the centre of an ancient dun. This castle was the stronghold of Clann Teige, a sept of the O'Briens who long possessed the islands.
The steamer will then return to Galway in time for a special train, which will start at half-past 6 o'clock on the evening of Saturday, the 5th.
The possibility of carrying out the foregoing arrangements will greatly depend on the state of the weather, tide, &c., but every possible means have been taken to insure success.
Many details of the objects referred to in the foregoing list may be found in Dr. Petrie's work on the Ecclesiastical Architecture and Round Towers of Ireland; Dr. O'Donovan's MSS. Letters to the Ordnance Survey, now in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, in which the history of the Islands, with minute descriptions and measurements of all the Pagan and Christian remains, are given; O'Flaherty's Iar-Connaught, edited for the Archaeological Society by the late Mr. Hardiman; A Sketch of the History and Antiquities of Aran, by John T. O'Flaherty, published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. xiv; An Excursion in Clare and
Aran, bySamuel Ferguson, Esq., published in the University Magazine for 1853; and in the Notes taken by the Director of this Excursion, during a visit to the islands some years ago, when all localities of interest were investigated, and drawings and plans made of them for him by Mr. C. Cheyne and Mr. Du Noyer.
1, Merrion-square, North, Dublin