Tableland
Standing on the beach at Cushendun village, looking west towards the glens. The Antrim coast is notable for the rising tablelands of broad, eroded valleys, or glens.
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Neat and tidy
Here is a view of our route to Torr Head standing on the beach at Cushendun, facing north. The village name in Irish is Cois Abhann Doinne, meaning at the foot of the river Dun, the land here and bay formed by the outflow of rivers from the glens.
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Gorse in flower
In 3.1 miles Torr Road passes nine townlands between Cushendun and Torcorr Townland, each with a namestone holding the Irish and Anglicized name. We can walk it in an hour at a steady pace, the terrane is sliced up so.
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Tornamoney townland is “Cattle Field of the Bogland.” That is the car door, foreground.
Common to all was the slope down to the North Channel.
Rowan Tree directional growth from a constant east wind..
Sheep pasture above the Loughan Cottage ruins.
Here is the friendly owner who climbed off his tractor for a chat with Pam while I photographed.
Rising from Cushendun Village
Torr Road passes nine townlands between Cushendun and Torcorr Townlands, each with a namestone holding the Irish and Anglicized name. Here are a few interesting names.
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“Ballindam” is derived from the Irish “Baile an tdam”, the Anglicization is the sounding out of Irish. Baile is “town” and “an tdam” is on the dam.
Headed uphill, the next is “Ballycleagh”. Bally is the English pronunciation of Baile. I found “cleagh” on Google translate under “Scots Irish” for “Well.” So, this is the town of the well.
Here is a sheep lookout at the aptly named, Alt gabhair townland, Irish for “Goat Section.” Otherwise known as Altagore.
Ancient Gaelic Names
Take a look at the view of Coolranny Townland on approach from Torcorr on Torr Road and see the source of this townland name that, from the Irish Language, means a recess, or “nook”, of ferns, or “bracken.” This, in the “Glens” section of County Antrim, is not a deep glen, as such, is rather a wrinkle between town headlands.
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The words carved on this namestone are from ancient Irish language with “Cuil” (a recess) and “Raithni” (possessive case of the noun for bracken, a type of fern). In other words, recess of ferns. The anglicized name, “Coolranny,” is the untranslated sound of the Gaelic place name.
The road to Coolranny starts at the foot of Glendun, Cushendun village. Here is the view over Cushendun and its sheltered harbor as Torr road climbs in a series of switchbacks to Torcorr townland.
A May Morning, Early
Every photograph from my recent posting were accepted by Getty IStock. Click this link to visit the photographs on IStock.
Gone too soon
Joseph P. Lee, a middle aged gentleman with carvings of a mature willow flanked by urns. In the intervening 162 years the upper layers of slate flake at the edges.
Rhoda Ann Mattison, a wife who died too young. What was the relationship of James and Rhoda to Catherine and John?
The carving is a pineapple (for hospitality) set in a elegant vase on a plinth flanked by ionic columns, a simple arch (banded to imply a rainbow?) surmounts all. Cross hatching implies space. An implied eternal banding of stylized leaves as starbursts.
I brought out the characteristic slate coloring. There is evidence of ware from the intervening 197 years, though the carving is surprising crisp.
An abrupt emptiness
Here is the east side of the inner enclosure wall of Dun Aonghasa (Dun Aengus) where it ends at a cliff edge over the Atlantic ocean.
Visible are the last 60 feet or so of the limestone strata supporting the inner ring.
When first constructed, the inner ring was complete, the western side 1,000 feet from the cliff.. Today’s form of a semi-circle was created by nature when the force of Atlantic Ocean waves eroded the cliff, undercutting the strata.
Look close to see a fracture where the next block of limestone will fall into the waves.
Wishing a blessed All Saints Day (November 1st) for all my readers.
Reference: wikipedia Dún Aonghasa, Sea Campion
Here are labeled photographs, detailing its major elements, and including visual guides for enhanced viewing.
Pam proofed my post, “When the Moon Dined from a Stellar Mangar”and found some improvements, including adding text labels to aid in finding Cancer constellation elements.
You will find I replaced photographs in the original post and well, all the major elements of Cancer are labeled. Here is an explanation of the new elements.
You can now trace the “Y” constellation pattern, with Alpha and Beta Chancri (Latin for “of Cancer”) the two claws and Iota the tail. Both elemetns of Iota, a visual binary star system, are there. They are wonderful viewed with a telescope. Near Alpha is M67 (Messier Object 67), another galactic cluster of gravitationally bound stars. It is quite faint in this photograph.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 