Achill-henge is a 2011 concrete structure on Achill Island off the northwest coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The term henge is used colloquially only and does not indicate any structural or cultural similarity to prehistoric monuments found in Ireland.
| Achill-henge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Joe McNamara (builder) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Medium | Concrete |
| Location | Ireland |
Structure
editAchill-henge is over 4 metres (13 ft) high and 100 metres (330 ft) in circumference. It consists of a circle of 30 concrete columns topped by a ring of concrete. No care was taken to replicate or reference genuine stone circles in the region or the country. The term Achill-henge can be interpreted as a reference to the cultural inaccuracy of the structure in local context as typically henges are simply referred to as stone circles in Ireland.
History
edit
Achill-henge was constructed over a weekend in November 2011 by Joe McNamara, a property developer. A team of workers hauled the large concrete slabs up the hill and sank them in the bog.[1]
Mayo County Council requested a court order to force McNamara to remove the edifice as it had been built without planning permission. McNamara claimed that the structure was exempt from planning rules as an "ornamental garden".
Theresa McDonald, Director of the Achill Archaeological Field School, also raised objections on the grounds that the structure may be less than 500 m (1,600 ft) from a Bronze-Age archaeological site.[2]
The High Court required McNamara to cease further work on the site, and as he was found to be in breach of this, upheld the Council's decision.[3]
Some local people have expressed admiration for the work as a feat of engineering, and a newspaper poll found a majority of locals in support of keeping the structure.[1]
On 8 January 2012, it was featured as part of the Prime Time programme on RTÉ 1 in Ireland.[4]
Achill Henge is still standing as of July 2024.
Joe McNamara
editJoe McNamara is noted in Ireland for a series of protests against Anglo-Irish Bank and the government's handling of the Irish financial crisis. In particular, he drove a concrete mixer truck into the gates of the Irish parliament building Leinster House, causing minor damage to the paintwork of the gateway.[1][5][6] He was found not guilty of criminal damage or dangerous driving.[5]
McNamara described Achill-henge as "a place of reflection".[3]
See also
editIn modern times a number of henge type monuments have been built, examples include:
- Maelmin henge (2000) [7]
- Arctic Henge Raufarhöfn, Iceland (1996)[8]
- Sark Henge (2015)[9]
- A henge monument was restored at the Devil's Quoits in Oxfordshire between 2002 and 2008.
References
edit- ^ a b c Kieran Cooke (16 February 2012). "Achill-henge: A monument that divides Ireland". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Cathy Hayes (13 January 2012). "Archaeologist objects - Achill-Henge may be built over prehistoric site - VIDEO". Irish Central. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ a b Caroline Crawford (24 July 2012). "Video: Developer Joe McNamara's 'Achill-henge' project refused by Bord Pleanala". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "Prime Time - 8th January 2013". RTÉ News. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ a b Tuite, Tom (22 March 2011). "Anglo protester cleared after driving truck into Dail gates". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^
- Edwin McGreal. "Anglo Avenger ordered to take down Achill-henge". The Mayo News. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- "Man charged over Leinster House truck incident". RTÉ News. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ "The Henge - maelmin.org.uk". www.maelmin.org.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "The Arctic Henge". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Sark Henge | Sark Island Tourism". 19 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.