Hello everyone! Its time for another Travel Tuesday. Here I like to share with you pictures and information about some of my weekend day trips in Ireland. I lived in Ireland part of the year for twelve years and thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday trips around the east coast of Ireland.
Every Spring John and I would look at properties for sale. He liked old rustic and unique places. I liked to be near the sea; the Irish Sea coastline.
One day we drove a bit west to the town of Bannon in Wexford.
“Bannow (Irish: Banú) is a village and civil parish lying east of Bannow Bay on the south-west coast of County Wexford, Ireland. In modern times the main settlement is Bannow (Irish: Banú) is a village and civil parish lying east of Bannow Bay on the south-west coast of County Wexford, Ireland. In modern times the main settlement is the village of Carrig-on-Bannow (or Carrig). In Norman times there was a borough called Bannow on Bannow Island at the mouth of the Bay. This town has since disappeared, probably due to the silting up of the natural harbor channels in the 14th century, and the former island is now attached to the rest of the parish.” see WIKI
A Brief History of Irish Invasions
Ancient Ireland was initially invaded by the Romans and later in the 5th century Dark Ages by the ANGLOW SAXONS a mix of N.German, S. Scandinavian peoples called the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes.
Next came the Vikings- Scandinavians- from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. They invaded mainly during the 8th through the 11the century but continued raids in Great Britain and Europe for many years.
Finally the Normans. The Normans originated as a Viking group who were given land in Northern France by King Chares the Simple of France in an attempt to try and keep Viking from invading deeper into France. Those Viking who remained “Northmanni/Normandy” and intermingled with the local population and were called Normans
ANGLO-Normans
The Anglo-Normans were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Anglo-Saxons, Normans, and French, following the Norman conquest in the BATTLE OF HASTINGS 1066. In this major battle HaroldII (c1022-66) the last Anglo Saxon King was defeated by William the Conqueror (c 1028-87). The first Noman King. The Normans bought with them a great cultural change to the area.
A great discussion on the Norman conquest of England is presented HERE and of England’s listing of kings and royal houses HERE.
Back to Barrow
We lived just a few miles from the area. Our favorite picker antique dealer lived in Wellingtonbridge, a small town just before the village of Bannow in County Wexford
The Bannow area is well known for its history of Viking and Norman settlements.
The town of Bannow was invaded by a band of Norman soldiers in 1169 with three Norman ships captained by Robert Fitz-Stephen and in support of Irish King MacMurrough who fought to regain his title as King of Leinster. Other ships landed a bit later at the area up the coast known as Hook’s Penisula.
At Bannon island is a ruined 13th century Norman Romanesque church called St Mary’s. The ruins have a graveyard, a nave, and a chancel; the area around the altar. John went to an underground area but I remained topside.
That side of the island abuts the Atlantic ocean with wild and wonderful beaches and waves the sea whipped up. I had a hard time maintaining my balance. I did so enjoy walking the graveyard and reading the historical plaques.
By Pam Brophy, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
We also looked at a property that at one time must have been a horse farm. There were other horse farms in the area. It had an old stone farmhouse, a newer stone cottage and a new stone attachment with multiple cabins plus a huge barn. There were a good few acres but the also was a side road that went down the local beach. I fell in love with that beach. A few minutes of a walk and then bliss!
We seriously thought of buying that property and went back to view a few times. Finally, there was some hint of some kind of impropriety with the owners and so we stopped looking.
I hope you enjoyed the wee bit of Ancient Irish history and the pictures of our visit. Do you like to learn about the history of an area you visit? Let me know what historical ventures you have made and why you loved them.
Meanwhile, talk again. Hope to see you for our next Tues Travel segment.
Any are you interested to hear about??
Take good care
Dara.
