Grianan is located three miles outside Derry~Londonderry in Co. Donegal. It sits above the modern settlement like a reminder of its long history. It is thought to date from the Iron Age and two great circular earthen embankments from this period can still be made out amid the bog and heather surrounding the site. At the centre is a stone fort or cashel which is from a later period and encloses circular platforms stepping down from the battlements. At the very centre a 'tumulus' or ancient stone construction was recorded in the 1830's but no sign of this now survives. The fort itself as in ruins in the 1830's but was rebuilt in the 1890's. The kingly site was contested between the Cenel Owen and the Cenel Conall, the two great Ui Neill clans, during the Early Modern period and was a site of such significance that when eventually destroyed by the O'Brien's in 1101, each soldier was ordered to take away one stone of the fort with them. It is a place full of history and atmosphere and therefore a great place to watch the sunrise on the summer solstice. In 2013 as part of #musiccity day we watched a fantastic sunrise and then went inside the fort to hear a choir greet the new day. I didn't quite make it today.
RSS Feed
