Coastal walk
Have been doing a series of coastal walks at low tide near Galway lately. Walks so far include: Roscam to Galway docks; Oranmore castle to bridge at Millplot; and this evening a circuit of Ardfry peninsula.
Around Ardfry, saw about half a dozen 'acre-stones'. I've heard that each of these marks out one acre of foreshore; presumably for rights to seaweed collection. The ones we saw had numbers between 4 [near Rinville park] and 42 [on the southern shore of Ardfry peninsula]. I'd say they were situated near the high water mark.
The numbers on these acre-stones are very clearly legible - even from 20 metres away it was easy to read them. Being on the foreshore, they are so exposed to the elements, and so well preserved that its hard to believe these would be any more than 100 years old.
Looking on the map now, I realise that 'Middle Third' and 'Treanlaur' are obviously the same placename. There's no reference to 'Middle Third' on the 1910 map, though the name does appear on the 1850 map - where it is given as the name for a ring fort about a mile outside of the townland of Treanlaur.
Another awesome placename nearby is Knocknamnashee - 'Hill of the Banshees' - shown as a ringfort on 1850 & 1910 maps, but no sign of it in the aerial photography from 1995 onwards. A case of fairly powerful superstition being trumped by economics.
Around Ardfry, saw about half a dozen 'acre-stones'. I've heard that each of these marks out one acre of foreshore; presumably for rights to seaweed collection. The ones we saw had numbers between 4 [near Rinville park] and 42 [on the southern shore of Ardfry peninsula]. I'd say they were situated near the high water mark.
The numbers on these acre-stones are very clearly legible - even from 20 metres away it was easy to read them. Being on the foreshore, they are so exposed to the elements, and so well preserved that its hard to believe these would be any more than 100 years old.
Looking on the map now, I realise that 'Middle Third' and 'Treanlaur' are obviously the same placename. There's no reference to 'Middle Third' on the 1910 map, though the name does appear on the 1850 map - where it is given as the name for a ring fort about a mile outside of the townland of Treanlaur.
Another awesome placename nearby is Knocknamnashee - 'Hill of the Banshees' - shown as a ringfort on 1850 & 1910 maps, but no sign of it in the aerial photography from 1995 onwards. A case of fairly powerful superstition being trumped by economics.