Rinn an Chaisleáin or Castle Point is a National Monument on Great Blasket Island, Ireland.
| Rinn an Chaisleáin | |
|---|---|
| Castle Point | |
 Great Blasket's lower village, with Castle Point in the foreground | |
| Type | castle site, cillín |
| Location | Great Blasket Island, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°06′19″N 10°30′40″W / 52.105299°N 10.511022°W |
| Official name | Rínn an Chaisleáin Church site[1] |
| Reference no. | 63 |
  Location of Rinn an Chaisleáin in Ireland | |
Location edit
Rinn an Chaisleáin is located directly north of Great Blasket's "Lower Village", to the west of the harbour.[2]
History edit
From the end of the 13th Century the Norman-Irish Feiritéar (Ferriter) family leased the Blaskets from the Earls of Desmond (apparently in exchange for two hawks per year[3]), and later from the Boyle Earls of Cork.[4] Rinn an Chaisleáin was originally the site of a castle built by the Ferriters.[citation needed]
In 1840 a Protestant "soup-school" was built using the stones from the castle ruins; it closed in 1852.[5]
Rinn an Chaisleáin remained in use as a calluragh (unconsecrated burial ground). All island families traced their ancestry to either Dunquin or Ventry, and so were buried on the mainland to rest with their families. In times of bad weather the island would be cut off from the mainland, and corpses remained unburied, sometimes for weeks. In extremis, bodies would be buried at Rinn an Chaisleáin. It was also used for the burial of unbaptised infants, suicides and shipwrecked sailors.[6][7][8]
Some of the burial sites are marked by stones.[citation needed]
References edit
- ^ "National Monuments in State Care: Ownership & Guardianship : Kerry" (PDF). National Monuments Service (Ireland). 4 March 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ Coyne, Frank (February 2010). "Archaeological Assessment & Instrument Survey on the Great Blasket Island, Co. Kerry" (PDF). Ægis Archaeology Limited.
- ^ Hayes, Gerald (4 May 2018). The Blasket Islandman: The Life and Legacy of Tomás Ó Criomhthain. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781788410397 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Blasket Islands - Dingle - A Visitors Guide to the Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne) in County Kerry, Ireland from Dingle Peninsula Tourism". www.dingle-peninsula.ie.
- ^ "Blasket Islands (Co. Kerry) – Page 2 – Ireland Byways". irelandbyways.com.
- ^ Hayes, Gerald; Kane, Eliza (20 April 2015). The Last Blasket King. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781848898875 – via Google Books.
- ^ Fennelly, Anita (3 March 2010). Blasket Spirit: Stories from the Islands. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781848890756 – via Google Books.
- ^ Carney, Michael; Hayes, Gerald (5 April 2013). From the Great Blasket to America. The Collins Press. ISBN 9781848891142 – via Google Books.