Clare Island Survey — History and Archaeology. 2 39 



tower. The little room is about 7 feet square with a beehive-like, corbelled 

 roof ; it has a slit to the east, and rests on two double corbels to each side. The 

 spaces between are, however, closed by solid slabs, and if it were ever open to 

 protect the angle, it has been closed at least for a long time. The correspond- 

 ing bartizan to the south-west is closely similar ; its slit faces westward. The 

 east window is large and oblong, with flag lintels and a small oblong light; beside 

 it to the west is a high-arched recess probably for a cupboard or even a 

 bedhead. The stair leads up through this window. The east window has 

 a large arched recess which was flagged above the entrance, and possibly had 

 opes to command the latter, but the flags are now broken. In the west wall 

 is a similar recessed oblong light ; a passage runs to the south-west bartizan ; it 

 is a couple of feet higher than the floor. Possibly a corresponding passage 

 ran northward to the recess described above. The late flues cut into the west 

 window recess, and run up the walls ; the lintels are of wood, and the whole 

 with the chimneys evidently quite modern. 



The top room, besides a modern fireplace to the east, and a slight recess 

 to the west, is remarkable only for its side passages roofed with slabs. The 

 northern ran into the east corner ; most of its roof has been destroyed ; it has 

 a north window and an eastern recess or ambry. On the same level is a 

 square north window in a deep recess. The south passage also runs to 

 the east, having a light in that end and one to the south. As I noted, the 

 staircase runs into the recess of the more western north window. The barti- 

 zans are now weather-slated, with two lozenges neatly executed on each face. 

 The slating adds to the unpicturesque appearance of the peel tower, save 

 from the strand, where with the pier, boats, and the distant Croaghpatriek it 

 makes a pretty picture. A wall, now levelled, ran from the south-west 

 angle of the tower southward to the creek. The headland extends only for 

 155 feet to the east. Over the ridge to the south, we find a picturesque 

 cove and some lofty caves or natural arches. (Plate III.) 



Legend and History of Grania Uaile. 



The legend of Grania Uaile is so instructive a side-light on the truth 

 and error preserved by tradition after three centuries, that I think there is 

 justification for studying it here. An old man named Henelly, of Ballintubber, 

 wrote down the legend for the Ordnance Survey, 1838. Grania Uaile was 

 called " nagcearbhach " because she kept a troop of professional gamblers and 

 dicers among her attendants. She married John Burke of Glen Han 

 (Gleann fhaolain) in Islandady Parish, and by him had a son, Tibbot na long. 

 She was a pirate and plunderer, and the clay of Tibbot's birth, her galley on 

 board of which he was born was attacked by a Turkish privateer. The crew 



