County Cavan · Ulster
Virginia
Achadh an Iúir
the Irish name means 'field of the yew'; the English name is for Elizabeth I
The story
A plantation town of the 17th century, named for the Virgin Queen in the same burst of naming that put her name on a colony in America. The Irish name underneath it is older and says what was actually there: a field of yew, above Lough Ramor.
Worth seeing nearby
- Loughcrew cairns · Thirty tombs on the 'Hill of the Witch'; Cairn T's back-stone lights up at the equinox sunrise, and the 'Hag's Chair' outside grants a wish if you sit in it.
- Loughcrew — the Hag's Chair · The Cailleach leapt from hill to hill dropping stones from her apron to make the cairns, missed her footing on the last leap and died — her chair is still there.
All of these are pinned on the Hidden Ireland map.
All towns and cities → · Know Virginia better? Add to the story.