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| Artist Eilish Creamer with Annette Corkery and Ann Gerety Smyth at the launch of her exhibition in Ardagh Heritage and Creativity Centre in April 2018. |
paintings. Images emerge from the outline of fields and townlands, that have been linked to folklore and historical events of particular areas. This work brings different aspects of art, ranging from
imagery, colour, personal relevance, mythology and historical significance that can appeal to a range of people.
Art of North Longford Townlands
Longford
is a beautiful county, steeped in history and mythology, dating back
to pre-historic times. The countryside extends over lush green
pastures, thick hedges, low stone walls and finds sanctuary in silent
mysterious bogs. However, it is the tranquil fields and townlands
that hold secrets of the past through linkages with folklore and
history. These fields are bordered by hedges and trees; some natural
boundaries, like rivers and hills, but others are man-made and most
have remained relatively unchanged over the centuries. Roads and
boreens were important connections between and through townlands, and
also served as advance and retreat routes in many battles.
This
project arose from a genealogy search of where our ancestors lived.
This led to a mapping of the townlands that they lived in, based on
ancient maps.1
Further perusal of the maps revealed interesting outlines of the
townlands around Granard. The uniqueness of the townlands can be seen
from the different colours, contributing to fascinating images
associated with historical events and folklore of North Longford.
While it is easy to visualise scenes of lofty mountains and deep
valleys, capturing the beauty of largely plane fields is equally
rewarding and perhaps more inspiring.
Fields,
roads and bog lands around Granard and north Longford played their
part in historical events and battles, providing defense and vantage
viewing points, allowing access to important strongholds and
shielding rebels from capture. The bog lands with their treacherous
bog holes and drains, provided an escape route and hiding for many a
rebel, based on their local knowledge of the bogs.
Roads
and houses were the domain of ghosts and paranormal activity. After
darkness, the night took on an eerie dimension, with dogs, horses and
other animals seen that were the talk of the country-side and often
an omen of bad luck and imminent death.
By
visualising townlands, we can conjure up the spirit of Granard and
North Longford. When infused with spirit, we see a land that was
responsive to past events, or even predated them. This land of
Granard may have its secrets, but it is willing to yield them up to
those willing to discover and explore them.
Diarmuid and Grainne’s night ride around Granard
The inspiration for this painting was Diarmuid and Grania’s Cave as shown in the Griffith Valuation maps.
Diarmuid and Grania were Irish mythological characters who went on the run, travelling the country and hiding in various places. Their Cave is shown in Carricknahoo in the townland of Grassyard. In
painting this picture, the image of a horse’s head emerged in the
townland of Tromra, with its mouth in Ballybrien and Ballymacroly,
and its body extending to Abbeylara. Ballinrud East looks like the
figure of a man (Diarmuid) and Abbeylara is in the shape of a woman
(Grania), perhaps riding in a chariot. The upper border of the horse
is formed by the Black Pig’s Dyke.
Diarmuid and Grainne’s night ride around Granard
This
painting is inspired by the tale of the The Coole Trotter,2
that…’was a huge black dog that had red eyes and fiery mouth and
feet that made a noise of a horse’s feet trotting’. He started
off at Mill’s Lane in Granard town, out to Killasonna, up the Bog
Road to Coole, back by Cammagh Bridge, through Abbeylara, up Moxham
Street and ended up at the Barrack Gate at midnight, most nights.
‘Any
young person who saw the Coole Trotter would die young and any old
person who saw him would have bad luck for the rest of his life’.
The
route the dog took is mapped out with a white line and the
surrounding townland boundaries provide the image of a dog running.
Oisin’s return form Tir-na-nOg
When
I was young and on holiday with relatives in Dundavan, I took a
shortcut through the sand and dewy grass of a sandpit. It struck me
that this place was Tir-na-nOg, and now that thought has provided
inspiration for another painting.
Oisin
and Niamh, according to folklore were two lovers that went to
Tir-na-nOg, the land of eternal youth. After 300 years, Oisin
persuaded Niamh to let him return home. She gave him a horse,
cautioning that he must not dismount, else he would die. Oisin
returned to Ireland, but he fell off the horse and immediately became
an old man.
In
this painting, Oisin and Niamh can be seen on horseback in Dundavan
and Lisatinny, in Co. Cavan. Close by, a fierce old warrior, with
skeleton mouth, blue eyes and red complexion emerges in Kilmore in
Columcille, with his head in (the) Toome townland. Legend has it that
St. Patrick tried to convert him to Christianity, perhaps from the
nearby monastery on Inch Mor island.
The
Black Pig’s Dyke is a pre-historic dyke stretching 10k between
Lough Gowna and Lough Kinale, but little is known of its origin or
purpose. The dyke lies in an ancient funery area with a number of
standing stones still in existence and are marked in the painting.
A
pig emerges, with its tail in Derrycassin woods, and snout in
Tonymore North. A red line running through the pig outlines the dyke.
According to folklore, the black pig dug up the dyke with his tusks.
However, the area around the dyke is of a higher level than other
surrounding land and appears like a pig running. Interestingly the
dyke is also called the Black Pig’s Race, suggesting that the Black
Pig’s Dyke or Race refers to the outline of the land around the
dyke.
On
the 8th September 1798, the last pitched battle in Ireland took place
in Ballinamuck, resulting in the killing and execution of many
Longford Rebels.
The
image in this painting is of a young, curly haired man emerging in
the townland of Creelaghta, showing different emotions, like fear and
determination. Lettercullion lends him a soldiery bearing and his
weapons, a bayonet emerges in Gaigue and, possibly, a hedge-knife in
Kiltycreevagh.
Granard
is a very important historical town and many battles took place over
the years. One battle on the 5th September 1798, three days before
the battle of Ballinamuck, is noted for the valiant defense of the
town by the rebels and their fight for freedom, but also for the
execution and brutality towards the defeated rebels.
In
this painting, the town is shaped like a warrior and the image of a
person can be identified with an eye aligned to the Baker’s Fort.
Ballinalee Forge
Ballinalee
lies between Granard and Longford and is associated with General Sean
MacEoin, often called the Blacksmith of Ballinalee. he was an Irish
Republican Army leader that repelled the British in Ballinalee in
1920.
In
this painting, the image of a bellows, which was used for lighting
forge fires, can be seen in Leitrim. An image in Leitrim could also
be of a person, like a blacksmith. Nearby, in Aghnashannagh, a fire
is blazing, situated within a brick fireplace that is in Soran to the
left and Kilshruley to the right. Ballinalee could possibly be the
hearthstone.
Clonfin Ambush
Clonfin
was the one of the few successful ambushes against the British in
February, 1921. Two lorries of British soldiers travelling from
Granard to Ballinalee were ambushed, just before the bridge in
Clonfin by the Irish Republican Army under General Sean MacEoin.
The
rebels took up position and fired from the Fairy Fort in Graffogue,
but the detonation that blew up the road was positioned the other
side of the road. An outline in the map of jagged shards on both
sides of the road, just beyond the bridge has resemblances to an
explosion.
Source:
1
Griffith
Valuation Maps.
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml
2.
Granard Its
History Our Heritage.
Editors: Joy
Burns, Bernadette
Grier,
Granard
Guild ICA, 1987.
3
Stephen
Warrilow. Granard’s standing stones; Longford, 1998.
Eilish
Creamer 2018 © All paintings are copyright of Eilish Creamer. Please do not download or copy any of these images without permission. You can contact Eilish here: eilishcreamerart@gmail.com
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