Manannan's Chair
Manannan's Chair, or Stoyl y Manannan or Manachan. The two latter terms are used interchangeably, and Manannan Mac Lir is occasionally called Manachan in Ulster also ; but both the Manx and the English name of the earthwork give me an impression that they are comparatively modern inventions. The " Chair," a large but eroded rampart, is said to have formed a complete ring originally, but only about two-thirds of a circle now remain, and that is steadily perishing. Up to about 60 years ago there was an object of some kind within the vallum, but the evidence differs as to both its character and its position. " Mr. John Quirk of Ballabooye states that before recent improvements took place on this eminence a peculiar earthen mound in the form of a seat or chair stood in the North-West corner, from which Manannan MacLir is supposed to have dispensed the law, hence the name, pronounced in this locality 'Mánachan.' " — (O.S. Name Books, circa 1869.) A tradition that this misty monarch of the Island not only held his Court here but was buried within the enclosure has not yet quite died out, but it may easily have been suggested by the name. Moore, Place-names, says " . . . . this 'seat ' . . . was a cromlech. It has now disappeared." I have seen a third reference to this mysterious object, but cannot at the time of writing lay my hand on it. The disappearance of a mound or cromlech from the North-West " corner " of the ring might be accounted for by the presence of the hedge. Possibly it was never a circle, but a crescent-shaped work like the Lhieh Eayst, " Half Moon," in Maughold and the destroyed earthwork at Ballanard, Conchan. The field in which the " Chair " stands is called Manachan, evidently by transference from the monument.
On the West side of the Island a proverbial saying is current, " that beats Manachan, and Manachan beat the Devil," a formula found in England and Ireland, but with nominal substitutes for the two leading actors. In England " he caps Bogie, and Bogie capped Old Nick " ; in Ireland " Bogie " becomes " Banagher," which may have suggested the Manx " Manachan " so far as the proverb is concerned. "That bangs Banagher, and Banagher banged the Devil " most likely takes its origin from the Banagher in Co. Derry (there are several others), the sand from whose sacred site was a powerful antidote to witches, the evil eye, and similar unwelcome influences. Is the " Banaghan " of Court Banaghan earthwork, said to stand above Glen Cam, an intermediate form, or simply " hillocks " ? Personally, I have never been able to find this monument of antiquity, but my enquiries locally have elicited the opinion, right or wrong, that it is " the same as Manannan's Chair."
[Source: A Manx Scrapbook, W. Walter Gill, First published in 1929]