The Temple of Manannan Areas:
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The Castlebar Mall FountainArtist: Peter Grant
This fountain is a Peter Grant sculpture based on a smaller piece
of sculptor representing Manannan, the mythical Irish figure, collected by
the late Ernie O'Malley on his travels around the world. This bronze piece
now adorns the Mall as a focal point just opposite Daly's hotel and the
Courthouse. Lit up at night time it provides a nice, quiet, contemplative
location to sit and watch the world go by and perhaps think about the
stories about Manannan which date from the 8th to 12th Century.
Manannan Mac Lir - (The Other World Lord or Mythical Mariner) is famed in County Mayo as a magician in late folklore. He lived in the Castle of Mannin in the Parish of Bekan which is about half an hour from Castlebar. The term Mac Lir means son of the sea rather than son of Lir as in the Children of Lir. His horse, which features prominently in the sculpture on the Mall, was known as Enbhar (which means water foam) and indeed Manannan is described as "a rider of the maned sea". His link with water is also apparent in that two of his daughters Glina and Monoge gave their names to two lakes in County Mayo.
Manannan is also known as Oribsiu which is believed to be the word
from which Lough Corrib is derived. When he died he was buried in Connaught
and a new lake is reputed to have burst open over his grave. It is
intriguing to speculate that this lake was in fact Mannin Lake which,
ironically, was drained away in the 1960s as part of the Moy drainage
scheme. Is his grave to be found in the swampland which now marks the old
Mannin Lake? Continuing the watery theme: the Castlebar River used to run
across the Mall before being diverted to its present course and it makes the
present location of the fountain quite a fitting one for Manannan and his
watery horse.
The Temple of Manannan Areas:
Manannan Experiences Library Art Poetry Ritual Occult Email