{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/66507c02c0852400120b7078/69aeb76ca0aa54264fba630e?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"The Neale’s Whispering Monuments: Pyramid, Pagan Gods and Irish Land League History","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/66507c02c0852400120b7078/1773057518205-b30b0895-cc13-4e69-abcd-99e10e7334ab.jpeg?height=200","description":"<h3>In this episode of <strong>Whispering Stones</strong>, host <strong>Bernice Cooke</strong> explores the quiet village of <strong>The Neale in County Mayo</strong>, a place filled with extraordinary history and mysterious monuments.</h3><p><br></p><h3>Just kilometres from <strong>Cong, Cross and Ballinrobe</strong>, The Neale sits on a limestone plateau surrounded by archaeological treasures including <strong>prehistoric cairns, stone circles, ringforts and crannogs</strong>. Yet it is the village’s unusual monuments that truly capture the imagination.</h3><p><br></p><h3>Join Bernice as she uncovers the story of <strong>The Neale Pyramid</strong>, an 18th-century architectural folly designed by <strong>Lord Charlemont</strong>, once crowned with a statue of Apollo. Discover the <strong>Temple Monument</strong>, a Doric-columned retreat built within the old estate walls, and the mysterious carvings known as the <strong>Gods of The Neale</strong>, featuring mythical figures like a unicorn and griffin.</h3><p><br></p><h3>The episode also touches on Irish mythology and history, including the legendary warrior <strong>Lugh Lámhfhada</strong>, the <strong>Land League movement</strong>, and the moment when the term <strong>“boycott”</strong> first entered the English language at nearby <strong>Lough Mask House</strong>.</h3><p><br></p><h3>If you enjoy <strong>Irish history, folklore, mythology, hidden monuments and the forgotten stories of rural Ireland</strong>, this is a place where the stones truly whisper.</h3>","author_name":"Bernice Cooke"}