5. TNW Lady's Island's name

Mar 26, 2017, 12:54 PM

It's a subtle difference, but this point of interest is known formally as Lady's Island, but by pilgrims as Our Lady's Island in devotion to the Virgin Mary and the annual pilgrimage that has existed here for well over a millennium. So far back are its roots in fact that Ptolemy refers to the place in his first century map. In a list of Irish place-names published in Iris-Leabhar na Gaeilge in 1903, the Irish name for Our Lady's Island is given as Cluain-na-mBan - 'the meadow of the women'. Considering that this locality was once the centre of druidical worship, it is fair to assume that Our Lady's Island was in pre-Christian times inhabited by female druids.

The racontour.com link below offers some great archival footage of the place.

Audio: Jame Maloney, 2017

The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
Email info@racontour.com