Aghadoe

Aghadoe (Irish: Achadh an Dá Eo) is a large townland[1] overlooking the town and lakes of Killarney in Ireland. Officially it is also a parish,[2][3] although the parish is larger than the area normally associated with the name.[1] The area is famous for its views of the lakes and islands, including Innisfallen Island.[4] The ruins of 13th century Parkavonear Castle and of "Aghadoe Cathedral," an old Romanesque church in ruins, make the spot popular with tourists and archaeologists.[5]

Not to be confused with Aghada, a town in County Cork.

During the Irish Famine (1845-1852), the abbey or church of Aghadoe's churchyard was the designated burial site for Famine and fever victims. London editor Charles MacKay traveled to Killarney in the summer of 1849 and notes that the churchyard itself was small (less than one acre), with a corner reserved for burials from Killarney's workhouse. It was "one of three where paupers are interred" (Mackay, "Forty Years Recollections" 2:90). Over the past three years (1846-1849), Mackay estimates that close to 2,000 Famine victims were buried at Aghadoe. They have "all [been] interred in one very small corner" of the cemetery. The "first glance shows the traveller in the midst of what a Golgotha he stands. In the wretched corner set apart for the paupers the earth is covered with deal planks and fresh remnants of coffins in shocking profusion" (ibid.). Mackay continues with a horrifying and tragic description of the scene at Aghadoe in July of 1849 (ibid., pp. 2:90-95).

Aghadoe takes its name from Achadh an Dá Eo, which is Irish for "The place of the two yew trees".[5] (It was traditional for church yards to have only one yew tree).

Panoramic view from Aghadoe

Annalistic references

See Annals of Inisfallen

  • AI939.1 Kl. Repose of Aed son of Mael Pátraic, abbot of Achad Deó.
  • AI1010.5 Mael Suthain Ua Cerbaill {of Eóganacht}, eminent sage of Ireland, rested in Christ in Achad Deó.

See also
  • List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kerry)

References
  1. "Aghadoe Civil Parish & Townland Map". County Kerry Genealogy. Retrieved 1 November 2017 – via Ancestry.com.
  2. Jones, Laurence (12 July 2004). "Maps of Aghadoe Parish". Eircom.net. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  3. Lyons, Jane. "Ireland, Civil Parishes, Aghadoe (from "Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland", 1837)". From-Ireland.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  4. "Aghadoe Heights Hotel & Spa". GP Associates. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  5. "Aghadoe Heights Church & Roundtower, Parkavonear Castle". All-Ireland.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.

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