Óenach Cruachain- early medieval seasonal assembly at Rathcroghan

Final painting

Model made using displacements maps from scans of landscape

I am so proud to show you a recent piece commissioned by the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre. It shows rathcroghan during the early middle ages at a time of a seasonal assembly or Óenach. Painted over a 3D model using displacement maps from scans of the landscape for accuracy and based on research into early medieval archaeology it was an absolute joy having a chance to create a greater early medieval irish landscape like this. 

 Its an amazing area, you have so much archaeology in one area, both old and newer. From prehistory you have the iron age barrows, daithi mound and standing stone, the linear earthworks called the Mucklaghs (shown on the left),  a courtomb and the rathcroghan mound, which I have done a reconstruction of myself in the past for Roscommon Co Co. From the early middle ages you have cashels (stone walled ringforts), raths(earthen bank ringforts) of various sizes, from one bank to multiple and their adjoining field systems based on excavated examples. You can also see a small church and its enclosure shown on the lower right of the image. In my opinion, its a perfect example of Irish early medieval life, the respect for the old, still living on and adapted to by the new.