Cannakill is an

abandoned village An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages have been deserted for a variety of causes. Abandonment of villages is often related to epidemic, ...

located in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Location

Cannakill is located to the west of

Croghan Hill Croghan Hill ( or ) is a hill with a height of in County Offaly, Ireland. The remains of an extinct volcano, it rises from the Bog of Allen and dominates the surrounding plains. It is composed of basalt, diorite, and volcanic ash. Historical ...

, south of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

and about 1 km northwest of Croghan village.

History and archaeology

Cannakill was one of many villages built by Ireland's Norman conquerors after the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

(late 12th century). When the Gaelic Irish lords (the Ua Conchobhair Failghe — O'Connor Faly) regained control of the area after the

Battle of Tochar Cruachain-Bri-Ele The Battle of Tochar Cruacháin Brí Eile or Cruachán Brí Eile took place in 1385 near what is now the village of Croghan in County Offaly, Ireland. The battle pitted the Gaelic forces of Uí Failghe, led by Murchadh Ó Conchobhair, against t ...

(1385), the village was abandoned. The village remnants are composed of the wall footings of four houses. Quarrying led to the discovery of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

and animal bones to the south of the village during the 1940s.

References

Archaeological sites in County Offaly National monuments in County Offaly {{offaly-geo-stub