Scotch-Irish-L Archives

From:
Subject: [Scotch-Irish] View from Grianan Fort, Why the Foyle won't Flush
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 22:58:24 EDT

Grianan of Aileach is a hugh circular stone fort situated on the Hill of
Aileach. It was at one time palace of the Hy Niall dynasty, Kings of Ulster
and High Kings of all Ireland, and dates back three thousand years. Built of
dry stone the fort is reckoned to be one of the most important antiquities in
the North of Ireland. The walls rise about 18 feet and are roughly 13 feet
thick. Inside the wall, which encloses an area of grass are terraced steps
which lead to the top. It is thought the stone circle was once a temple for
the worship of the sun, perhaps by the Druids, as the only entrance, an iron
gate, faces towards the East. One of the most valued treasures of the
National Musuem in Dublin is the bell of Aileach, which is mentioned in the
"Annals of Ulster" as early as 522 A.D. Grianan of Aileach which is marked on
the map issued by the geographer Ptolemy around 100 A.D. and is also
mentioned in the "Annals of the Four Masters." St. Patrick is said to have
prophesied that Kingship and prominence should be over Erin and Aileach "When
you lift your foot to approach the flag, the men of Erin shall tremble before
you."

The view from the fort in marvelous. You can see the River Foyle to the
South, Lough Swilly to the West and the Innishowen Pen. to the North. What
stands out is the contrast between Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle. The Swilly
runs clear and blue and Fleming says he would eat fish from it but not the
Foyle which stays muddy brown all the time. He explained as follows: The
Foyle is 20 miles long while the Swilly is only 12. The water in both flow
at 2 miles per hour. There are two tides per day or one complete cycle every
12 hours. You do the math. The Swilly manages to flush itself each and
every tide. There are 6 hours from high tide to low tide and then it starts
over so you have a maximum of 12 miles of river that can be discharged in
this amount of time. The Foyle is 20 miles long so it never really gets a
chance to "flush" itself, hence the brown color of the water. Fleming will
not eat fish from the Foyle. He is a wealthy land owner and his family has
lived in St. Johnson for over 400 years so I too will not eat fish from the
Foyle.

Regards,
Robert Cowan
>From hot and dry North Carolina

This thread:

• [Scotch-Irish] View from Grianan Fort, Why the Foyle won't Flush by