Achill Island was the focus of attention this weekend after a large Stonehenge-like structure was erected in the area virtually overnight. Don’t worry, we’ve got the lowdown on this bizarre development.
Stonehenge in Achill Island? Tell me more.
Well I’ll tell you as much as I can because part of the story surrounding the erecting of the structure on the island off the west coast remains shrouded in mystery. Basically, the structure, which is similar to Stonehenge in that it’s circular in shape and consists of a series of upright boulders, was erected in Achill over the weekend by a number of construction workers led by a man known as Joe McNamara.
Joe McNamara? Do I know him from somewhere?
I thought the name might have piqued your interest. Yes, Joe McNamara is the very same Joe McNamara that drove a lorry with the words ‘toxic bank’ and ‘Anglo’ painted on it into the gates of Leinster House last year. Also known as the ‘Anglo Avenger’, McNamara is believed to have been planning the ‘Achill-henge’ structure for up to six months.
He was planning it you say? So this thing is completely above board?
On the contrary, but would you expect anything less with a character like McNamara involved? According to a report in The Mayo News this week, the structure was built on commonage land but without the permission of the Mayo County Council. Planning officers made several visits to the site over the weekend in an attempt to call a halt to the project, but McNamara and his men ploughed on regardless.
Mayo County Council have brought the case before the High Court and it is expected to be back before the courts later this week.
How the hell did they put it together overnight?
Well, overnight is stretching it a bit. Work started on the structure early Friday morning and was completed in darkness on Sunday evening, but to do it over a weekend is still some achievement. While they were there, McNamara and his men carried out their work with military precision.
The creator of Achill-henge himself, Joe McNamara
30 trucks carrying pre-cast concrete arrived on Friday morning and by Sunday evening, the structure, which is 15 feet high and has a circumference of nearly 100 metres, stood proudly on a hilltop in Pollagh, overlooking the villages of Keel and Dooagh.
Furthermore, The Mayo News adds that the structure “has been built to sync with sunrise on the summer and winter solstices and March and September equinoxes.
“It is believed that the sun will rise and shine through the gaps between the ‘stones’ to light up a centre-piece on the site – a centre-piece yet to be built or revealed.”
Granted, that’s impressive, but why did he build it in Achill?
McNamara has lived in Galway for years, but he is originally from Achill and owns the Achill Head Hotel, which is close to the site. There are said to be further plans to build a road connecting the site with the hotel in the future.
OK so I’ve got the basics, but the most pressing question of all is why did he build the bloody thing in the first place?
No-one knows, hence the ‘shrouded in mystery’ line earlier on. Some say it was a political statement, others suggest that it’s a tourist attraction, while there are scarcely believable rumours (we might have even made them up ourselves) that McNamara was visited in a dream by ancient pagan Gods who compelled him to construct the monument post-haste.
McNamara, for his part, is keeping schtum and refusing to utter a single word about the matter, so until the courts take further action, the mystery continues…
