Two medieval carvings taken from Scattery Island in the Shannon
Estuary more than 150 years ago are to be returned to their home ground
this week.
According to the Scattery Island Heritage and Tourism
Group, the stone artifacts were removed from the former monastic
settlement on the island by a sea captain in the mid-19th century.
The carvings were discovered this year and have been dated to the 12th
and early 15th centuries by a heritage officer for Galway City Council.
It is understood that the Captain of the Erin Go Bragh
passenger ship, Francis Kennedy, removed the artifacts from the island
in the early 19th century and used them as garden ornaments at his home
in Cunningham Terrace, Kilkee.
Scattery Island has been uninhabited since 1979.