Saint Macdara's Island Explained

Saint Macdara's Island
Native Name:Cruach na Cara
Native Name Lang:ga
Founder:Macdara
Established:6th century AD
Disestablished:Before 1100
Diocese:Tuam
Status:Ruined
Style:Celtic
Location:Carna, County Galway, Ireland
Coordinates:53.3044°N -9.9173°W
Map Type:Ireland
Public Access:Yes
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation2:National Monument of Ireland
Designation2 Offname:Saint Macdara's Island
Designation2 Number:242[1]

Saint Macdara's Island [2] is a small island off the coast of County Galway in Ireland on which stands a mediaeval Christian monastery and National Monument.[3] [4]

Location

The island is located on a 60-acre (24.5 ha) granite mountain island off the coast of Connemara, 6km (04miles) west-southwest of Carna.[5] [6]

History

Saint Sinach Macdara, patron saint of seafarers, is believed to have built a wooden church on the island in the sixth century.[7] It was replaced by the present stone building in the 10th century.[8] The roof stones were cut to mimic wood shingles.[9]

Local fishermen traditionally dipped their sails three times while passing the island.[10]

A wooden statue of the saint was paid special reverence by locals; in an act of iconoclasm the Archbishop of Tuam ordered it buried.[11]

Every 16 July on Irish: Féile Mhic Dara (Feast of Macdara) local people make a pilgrimage to the island for a mass and blessing of boats (including the famous Galway hookers).[12] [13] [14]

There is no pier on the island. Nine people drowned on a pilgrimage to the island during a storm in 1907. The roof on the island's church was restored in 1977. In addition to the church, there are three penitential stations consisting of cross slabs, and a holy well. There are also the ruins of a much later bothy around which animals were once raised.

Description

A stone church or oratory, probably a shrine for Macdara's remains. There are several cross slabs and an enclosure.[15]

Postage stamps

The Irish postal service, An Post, released a series of definitive stamps between 1982 and 1986 depicting the tenth century Macdara's Church on the island. The five stamps were as follows:[16] [17]

Year Colour Value (pence)
1982 Green 29p
1983 Black 30p
1985 Ruby 28p
1985 Blue 37p
1986 Brown 32p

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Monuments of County Galway in State Care . 8 . heritageireland.ie . National Monument Service . 27 July 2020.
  2. Web site: Saint Macdara's Island/Cruach na Cara (Oileán Mhic Dara). Placenames Database of Ireland. 2024-01-29.
  3. Book: Walsh, David. Oileain: A Guide to the Irish Islands. 29 March 2018. Pesda Press. 9780953195695. Google Books.
  4. Book: Robinson, Tim. Connemara: Listening to the Wind. 19 June 2007. Penguin UK. 9780141900711. Google Books.
  5. Web site: Oops the page no longer exists - Discover Ireland. Website design and development by. Tibus. www.discoverireland.ie.
  6. Web site: Explanation to Accompany Sheets 1-. 29 March 1871. H.M. Stationery Office. Google Books.
  7. Web site: Saint Mac Dara's Island R.A.S. Macalister. www.aislingmagazine.com.
  8. Web site: St macdara's island, County Galway. www.earlychristianireland.net.
  9. Book: A New History of Ireland: Prehistoric and early Ireland. Theodore William. Moody. Francis X.. Martin. Francis John. Byrne. Art. Cosgrove. 29 March 1976. Oxford University Press. 9780198217374. Google Books.
  10. Book: Day, Catharina. Ireland. 29 March 2018. New Holland Publishers. 9781860113277. Google Books.
  11. Book: The Fabled Coast: Legends & traditions from around the shores of Britain & Ireland. Sophia. Kingshill. The Estate of Jennifer. Westwood. 28 June 2012. Random House. 9781409038450. Google Books.
  12. Web site: Islands of Ireland: If you ever posted a letter in the 1980s you'll be familiar with Macdara's Island. MacCarthy. Dan. Irish Examiner. 2022-07-08. 2024-01-30.
  13. Web site: Seafarers' pilgrimage to MacDara's Island. Clodagh. Kilcoyne. The Wider Image.
  14. Book: Harbison , Peter . Pilgrimage in Ireland: the monuments and the people]. Barrie and Jenkins Limited. 1992. First. 96–99. 0 8156 0265 0. London and Frome.
  15. Web site: Pilgrimage to the Connemara coast - Independent.ie.
  16. Book: Postage Stamps of Ireland: 70 years (1922 – 1992). An Post. 1992. 26–7. 1 872228 13 5. Dublin.
  17. Book: Stamp Catalogue: Ireland . Stanley Gibbons. 6th. 2015. 20. 978 0 85259 924 2. London and Ringwood.

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