LIMAVADY SCULPTURE TRAIL Myths and Legends of Limavady Funded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board's Tourism Development Fund, Limavady Borough Council created an iconic trail bringing myths and legends to the modern world. Now, visitors get to explore the Limavady Explore See Do Sculpture Trail and discover "tales of merciless highwaymen pillaging unsuspecting travellers and seek a gift for an ancient sea god, listen to the faery harp playing ‘Danny Boy’, marvel at the leaping dog and unearth the last serpent in Ireland". (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtU0Kp8CrFk) SDLP Councillor Gerry Mullan described this fantastic project that brings Ireland's magical myths to life as "one of the greatest [he] has ever had the privilege to be a part of in more than a decade of service on the council". Maurice Harron had also expressed his admiration of the Limavady project saying, “I will be doing work at three different sites – Largantea, the Roe Valley Country Park and Feeny. The three I’ve designed are the Leap of the Dog, ‘Liam and Mhadaigh’. It is going to be in steel and hopefully very eye catching. It will be on the actual rock – it should be very eye catching, at least I hope it will. In Feeny it will be of this serpent, coming out of the river. The third is the highwayman, Cushy Glen. It is going to be in the actual location where this guy operated. It will be from a stone block, abstract. There are great stories, mythology and history. It started off as a ‘tourist trail’, which could be photographed and used as symbols of the area. You could easily build on their story-telling heritage. It should be a bit of fun for people to see things like this. People will become more aware of their locality." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HYClRmtKDo) The legends are: • Finvola, The Gem Of The Roe A 17th century legend about Finvola, the young and beautiful daughter of Dermot, the chieftain of the O’Cahans, who fell in love with Angus McDonnell of the McDonnell Clan hailing from Scotland. Dermot consented to his daughter's marriage on one condition; that she would be brought back to Dungiven upon her death for burial. Unfortunately, Finvola died young, quite soon after reaching the isle of Islay. Angus, who was distraught at his love's death, could not bear to part with her and made the decision to bury her on the island. Finvola’s two brothers heard a piercing wail while on Benbradagh Mountain and recognized it as the call of the banshee Grainne Rua, so they knew that a member of their clan had passed away. They set sail for Islay, recovered Finvola’s body and brought her home to Dungiven, setting the banshee’s cry at rest. The sculpture of the legendary beauty was created by Maurice Harron. • Cushy Glen, The Highwayman The 18th century is known to have been an age where highwaymen roamed free plundering and pillaging whoever was unfortunate enough to cross their paths. Cushy Glen, a widely feared highwayman worked his way through the Windy Hill road, between Limavady and Coleraine, and preyed on unsuspecting travelers. He attacked his victims from behind with a knife often aided by his wife, Kitty. He is reputed to have murdered several travellers and dumped their bodies in the 'Murder Hole' at the foot of Windy Hill. For 170 years the old coach road to Coleraine was called the Murderhole Road, but was later renamed Windyhill Road in the 1970's. Glen eventually met his own end when he attempted to rob Harry Hopkins, a cloth merchant from Bolea. Installed in 2013, the sculpture of Cushy Glen was crafted by Maurice Harron. It depicts the highwayman as he lies in wait in his den for his next victim. • Manannan Mclir, The Celtic God of The Sea The Celtic God of the sea, after whom the Isle of Man is named, is one of five life-size sculptures highlighting the myths and legends of the Roe Valley's cultural heritage. The statue made headlines in 2015 when it suddenly disappeared from Binevenagh Mountain and went missing for an entire month. The monument was created by sculptor John Sutton, known for his work on the popular HBO hit TV series Game Of Thrones, had became a popular tourist attraction. The monument featured the figure of Manannan Mac Lir standing in a boat's prow at the top of the mountain. The nine feet monument was later found by a group of ramblers dumped on the mountainside just a few hundred meters from its original spot after a land and air search involving PSNI officers had failed to locate it. The statue was badly damaged and whoever cut it down left a wooden cross with the words 'You shall have no other gods before me' in its place. The artist spent the next six months painstakingly creating a replacement sculpture to be put in the original's place. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S_pmIppAD4) Read more about the legends of Limavady Sculpture Trail on http://connollycove.com/limavady/ LIMAVADY SCULPTURE TRAIL;Celtic Myths and Legends, Limavady-The history of Limavady Northern Ireland

• published: 03 Feb 2017
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