Search Results for 'blind poet'

One of the attractions for WB Yeats, when he was considering buying the old Norman tower at Ballylee, was that the surrounding countryside echoed with stories of Antoine Ó Raifteiraí (1799-1835), the blind minstrel, who frequented the south Galway area.

In 1990 – exactly 100 years after Sir William Gregory granted a 99-year lease on a section of land at Kiltartan Cross on which to build a schoolhouse – the Kiltartan Gregory Cultural Society was founded. Its aim was to restore the derelict red-brick schoolhouse, the very one commissioned by Sir William Gregory, and to preserve the history of Kiltartan for future generations. The next six years were spent doing just that.

The first time Lady Gregory met John Quinn was on Sunday August 31 1902 at a Feis Ceol she had partly organised in the memory of Ó Raifteirí the poet. The occasion also marked Lady Gregory’s first steps into the Celtic revival movement which would absorb her energies throughout her long life, and define her reputation for ever.

The Burren Lowlands Group was among the winners at this year’s Golden Mile of Galway Awards, receiving the Built Heritage Award for a mile extending from Ballylee Cross to the Ballyaneen lios/fort. This is one of the most historic roads in the county as it includes Thoor Ballylee, an old mill and miller’s house, Yeats’ cottage, ring forts, a blessed well, and 19th century farmhouses.