Gallán Pollta Áth Fhád | |
  Shown within Ireland | |
| Alternative name | Cloghaphoill |
|---|---|
| Location | Aghade, Tullow, County Carlow, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°46′12″N6°44′48″W / 52.770101°N 6.746804°W |
| Width | 1.56 metres (5.1 ft) |
| Height | 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) |
| History | |
| Material | granite |
| Founded | early Bronze Age, 2000–1600 BC |
Aghade Holed Stone or Cloghaphoill is a large holed stone and Irish National Monument located in Aghade, County Carlow, Ireland. [1]
The holed stone is granite, measures approximately 2.4 x 1.56 x 0.46 metres, weighs close to 5 tonnes, and has a hole about 32 centimetres (13 in) in diameter near the top. [2] [3]
Archaeologists believe that the stone was originally a door to a megalithic tomb. The hole may have permitted the offering of food or other objects to the dead.
The 14th-century Book of Ballymote offers a story where Niall of the Nine Hostages ties Eochaid, son of Énnae Cennsalach mac Labhradh (a 5th-century King of Leinster) to the Aghade Holed Stone and sends nine men to kill him: [4]
Then Niall went to Leinster upon a hosting, and he said that he would not go from them so long as he was alive, or until Echu were given him as a pledge and hostage. And this had to be done. So he was taken to Ath Fadat [Fád's ford] in Fothairt Fea on the bank of the Slaney, and was left there before Niall, with a chain around his neck, and the end of the chain through the hole of a stone pillar. Nine champions advance towards him to slay him. 'Woe!' said Echu, 'this is bad indeed!' With that he gave himself a twist, so that the chain broke in two. He seized the iron bolt that was through the chain, and advanced to meet them. He plied the bolt on them so that the nine fell.
— Orcuin Néill Nóigíallaig (The Slaying of Niall of the Nine Hostages) [5]
Up to the 18th century it was common for sick children to be passed through the hole, in the belief that this would cure them.
County Carlow is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow County Council is the governing local authority.
Niall Noígíallach, or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, was an Irish king, the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated the northern half of Ireland from the 6th to the 10th century. Irish annalistic and chronicle sources place his reign in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, although modern scholars, through critical study of the annals, date him about half a century later. He is presumed by some to have been a real person, or at the very least semi-historical but most of the information about him that has come down to us is regarded as legendary.
Lóegaire (died c. 462), also Lóeguire, is said to have been a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Irish annals and king lists include him as a King of Tara or High King of Ireland. He appears as an adversary of Saint Patrick in several hagiographies. His dealings with the saint were believed to account for his descendants' lack of importance in later times. There are several accounts of his death, all of which contain supernatural elements, some of which concern his wars against Leinster.
Nath Í, also known as Dathí, son of Fiachrae, son of Eochaid Mugmedon, was a semi-historical Irish king of the 5th century, the father of the likely-historical king Ailill Molt and the ancestor of the Uí Fiachrach dynasties of early medieval Connacht. His mother was Béḃinn. According to legend, he was a High King of Ireland, and died after being struck by lightning while on an expedition to the Alps.
Conall Cremthainne, also called Conall Err Breg, was an Irish king. He was the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and one of the progenitors of the Uí Néill dynasty.
Niall Glúndub mac Áedo was a 10th-century Irish king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. Many Irish kin groups were members of the Uí Néill and traced their descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages.
The Red Hand of Ulster is an Irish symbol used in heraldry to denote the Irish province of Ulster. It is an open hand coloured red, with the fingers pointing upwards, the thumb held parallel to the fingers, and the palm facing forward. It is usually shown as a right hand, but is sometimes a left hand, such as in the coats of arms of baronets.
The Uí Ceinnselaig, from the Old Irish "grandsons of Cennsalach", are an Irish dynasty of Leinster who trace their descent from Énnae Cennsalach, a supposed contemporary of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Énda was said to be a grandson of Bressal Bélach and a first cousin of Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada, eponymous ancestor of the rival Uí Dúnlainge.
Geoghegan is a surname of Irish origin.
Leighlinbridge Castle, also called Black Castle, is in the village of Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland, on the River Barrow.
Events from the 5th century in Ireland.
Aghade is a small civil parish, in the barony of Forth, County Carlow, Ireland. It is 3 miles from Tullow and has a notable bridge over the River Slaney. It also has a church, and at one time had a school.
The Uí Fiachrach were a royal dynasty who originated in, and whose descendants later ruled, the coicead or fifth of Connacht at different times from the mid-first millennium onwards. They claimed descent from Fiachrae, an older half-brother of Niall Noigiallach or Niall of the Nine Hostages. Fiachrae and his two full brothers, Brion and Ailill, were the collective ancestors of the Connachta dynasty that eventually became the new name of the province. Their mother was Mongfind.
Heapstown Cairn is a cairn and National Monument located in County Sligo, Ireland.
The Burren River is a river in Ireland, flowing through County Carlow.
Ballintaggart Ogham Stones is a collection of ogham stones forming a National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland.
Carrigaphooca Stone Circle is a stone circle and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland.
The Timoney Stones are a collection of standing stones forming a National Monument in County Tipperary, Ireland.
The Ardcanaght Stones are a pair of ogham stones forming a National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland.
The Carlow county football team represents Carlow in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Carlow GAA, the County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Leinster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.