Islands of Ireland: The bountiful history of the 'Killarney of the North'

Bejewelled with about 32 islands, Lough Ramor offers plenty of opportunities for placid exploration

Ballaghanea Island. Lough Ramor, Co Cavan. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

The L-shaped Lough Ramor in Co Cavan is such a delightful place that it merits plentiful visits.

Bejewelled with about 32 islands, it offers plenty of opportunities for placid exploration of its environs. With not a shred of hyperbole, it is known as the Killarney of the North. It is about 8km by 3km and is another special area of conservation.

The lake is fringed with enticing woodland as well as the attractive town of Virginia - named for Queen Elizabeth 1, The Virgin Queen, on the Plantation of Ulster in 1609. Many of the lake’s islands are crannógs with some of them barely above the surface of the water and several more below it save for a few thrusting trees. 

Several rivers flow into the lake including the Blackwater which itself is a tributary of the Boyne which flows into the Irish Sea at Drogheda, Co Louth. This connection makes Lough Ramor essentially part of the hinterland of the eastern seaboard - a connection that would prove fatal to many when the Vikings arrived.

The second-largest island also lies on the eastern side, Woodward’s Island and was the location of the discovery of the 1,000-year-old Virginia brooch. This magnificent Viking-era silverwork features Scandinavian and Celtic design and is housed in the National Museum. It may have been part of a hoard or even simply dropped during the destruction of the monastery on that island by the Vikings.

In comparison to other lakes in the vicinity, Lough Ramor is relatively calm and attracts frequent yacht races. The largest of the islands by some distance is Ballaghanea Island and is also on the eastern side.

In the 9th century, the island was the headquarters of a militia allied to the Vikings. The island is very close to shore and its proximity must have suited the bandits who would have been able to disappear into the woods easily and defend their position from there if circumstances demanded. Their power base didn’t endure and the Annals of the Four Masters records a slaughter of them at the hand of Maelseachlainn (Malachy), King of Meath. This was the same king who routed the Viking king Turgesius on Lough Lene by a subterfuge involving men dressed as ‘maidens’. 

The counterattack was described in the annals thus: ‘The demolition of the island of Loch Muinreamhair by Maelseachlainn, son of Maelruanaidh against a crowd of ‘sons of death’ of the Luigni and Gailenga who were plundering the districts at the instigation of the foreigners and they were destroyed by him.’ Demolition, presumably referring to stockades, rudimentary huts and supplies.

Several artefacts from this era can be seen also in the National Museum under the Royal Irish Academy collection.

The next incident of note in the history of the island occurred in 1642 when the earl of Fingall and his family sought refuge there following the Catholic uprising of the previous year. Though a Catholic himself, Plunkett was at risk from the internecine religious war that was breaking out. He fought for the Confederates against the English Parliamentarians and was killed in 1649. By 1836 Ballagheana Island was in the possession of the Marquis of Headfort whose stately pile, Virginia Park, lay on the north shores of the lake.

Ballaghanea derives from bealach (mouth) and possibly refers to the point at which the lake opens out into its western half. There haven’t been many variations to its names over the years: just Ballaghnea and Big Island.

The roughly square island has a complete canopy with oak and willow prominent. Its interior is a dense, humid environment (at least it was when this newspaper visited last week), where fallen trees are in turn consumed by the forest floor and epiphytes such as ferns proliferate. Pockets of clear woodland are apparent too and the occasional bird sings. 

A palisade of purple loosestrife encircles the island and gently gives way to a visiting kayak. Peace, and its close associate solitude, reign.