<< Our Photo Pages >> Oweynagat - Cave or Rock Shelter in Ireland (Republic of) in Co. Roscommon
Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 09 September 2011 Page Views: 10319
Natural PlacesSite Name: Oweynagat Alternative Name: Cave of Cruachan, Cave of the CatsCountry: Ireland (Republic of) County: Co. Roscommon Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Castlerea Nearest Village: Tulsk
Latitude: 53.797300N Longitude: 8.31051W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Irish mythological site. Still visible and accessible in a small field on the edge of the complex, 700 meters southwest of the great mound where Medb’s palace was said to stand, the cave’s opening is quite small, some three feet high by four feet wide, formed by a medieval souterrain or underground passage. After that narrow opening, the cave opens up to a huge cathedral-like space.
In Co. Roscommon, in Ireland’s western province of Connacht, the cave is of of huge mythic importance. Oweynagat is part of the great archaeological complex of CRUACHAN, the ancient capital of the province of Connacht centered on the fort of its goddess-queen Medb.
Oweynagat figures prominently in ancient Irish myth and legend. It was the birthplace of Medb herself. The goddess and fairy queen Étain, fleeing with her Fsiry lover Midir from her human husband, stopped at Oweynagat with her companions, who included her maidservant CROCHAN Crogderg, whose name means “blood-red cup.” Midir was said to have wanted to visit a relative who lived in the cave, the otherwise unknown Sinech (“large-breasted one”), for whom he had great affection. At the end of their stay, Crochan was so enamored of the place—which although it seems only a dingy cave, is a great palace in the Otherworld—that she begged to stay. Étain and Midir gave her the cave, and so it was there that Crochan’s daughter Medb was born.
More at http://mitchtempparch.blogspot.com/2009/01/oweynagat.html
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