At last I have made it to White Island. I took the White Island Ferry for £3 Sterling, which gives you about 40 minutes or so on the island. To be honest you don't need much more than that, but it would be great to hire a boat so that you could spend as long as you liked looking at the marvellous and engmatic figures.
The figures stand inside a ruined church, which still has a nice, but fairly plain Romanesque doorway. There are seven figures in all and a carved head. One of the figures is unfinished. Fastened to the wall of the surrounding enclosure is a Clonmacnoise style cross slab.
A lot has been written about these figures and their age and origins are uncertain. T.C. Lethbridge suggested that they are Celtic in origin, but this seems unlikely. However, one of the figures does have the same pattern carved down its side as can be found on the more famous Celtic 'Janus' figure at Boa Island Figures (County Fermanagh).
The smallest of the figures is considered by some to be a Sheela-na-Gig. This is possible. Its style is certainly different to the rest of the carvings and it may not belong to the set.
Other figures are interpreted as Christ in different forms (see photos for more).
Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_All Sites Visited On 1st May 2005 « Previous Site Next Site »
| John B from California |   |
White Island Ferries operate from the Castle Archdale Marina. They operate between 11am & 6pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from April to June. From July to the end of August they operate between the same times daily. Allow one and a half hours for the trip.
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 The Bishop Stone (Co. Fermanagh) |  Ballycloghduff (Co. Westmeath) |  Boa Island Figures (Co. Fermanagh) |
