Remote and inaccessible on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Iceland remained uninhabited for centuries after the nomadic hunter-gatherers of mainland Europe and Scandinavia had evolved into settled agrarian communities. Popular legend has it that the first humans to tread the shores and volcanic terrain of Iceland were Christian monks from the north-west of Ireland, … Read more
In the 1940s Myles na gCopaleen in his ‘Crushkeen Lawn’ column in the Irish Times denounced de Valera for wasting taxpayers’ money on the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, whose only purpose, claimed Myles, was to prove that there was no God and two St Patricks. What had provoked his ire were two lectures: one … Read more
Skellig Michael is one of only two World Heritage Sites (WHS) in the Republic. It comprises the main monastic complex and the much smaller South Peak hermitage complex. Controversy has long dogged the Skelligs. A joint Irish–Welsh expedition raised concerns about damage caused by conservation work in the 1890s. There were controversies over the illegal … Read more
Sir, —The ‘Platform’ article ‘Restored to death? Skellig Michael’s WorldHeritage Status under threat’ by Michael Gibbons (HI 15.3, May/June2007) calls into question the professional standards enployed in thecurrent conservation programme at Skellig Michael. As the seniorprofessional staff responsible for this project, we wish to respond tothe main points raised by Mr Gibbons. Skellig Michael, which … Read more
Brigid, goddess and saint, the second most important Irish saint after Patrick, is well known not only in Ireland but also in many other parts of the world. Thousands of books and articles have been written about this influential figure since the first by Cogitosus c. AD 650. Yet some historians have claimed she did … Read more