A Derry-based academic has uncovered new evidence which strengthens suggestions that the Burren was a key inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien when he wrote the Lord of the Rings.
Dr. Liam Campbell believes the karst landscape was deeply embedded in Tolkien's original concept for Middle Earth, while he has also suggested that Poll na Gollum cave influenced the naming of one of his most famous characters, Gollum.
Tolkien was an External Examiner at the then University College Galway throughout the 1950s, and was known to have made a number of visits to the karst limestone area.
Dr. Liam Campbell is to give a talk on his findings at next month's Burren Tolkien Society Festival.
