The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Slievecorragh

Cairn(s)

Fieldnotes

Probably the strangest site I've visited. There may be a path up to here from Hollywood village but I couldn't find one (I didn't look too hard). I parked at the junction at N952035 and headed up the steep way.

This is on the St. Kevin's Way and that may account for the sculptured chair (with teddy) that I encountered on arrival. St. Kevin's Chair and St. Kevin's Bed are features below in Hollywood glen. At first I thought that someone had brought up an ordinary wooden chair in a kind of Flann O'Brien gesture, but no, this is actually a metal chair, sculptured and painted so well that it wasn't until I touched it that I realised that it was metal. It's placed on a promonotory below the cairn with fantastic views to the south-west and west. Wacky!

On to the cairn itself. It's been robbed out. It's quite large, 25 metres on the longer axis with evidence of multiple cists/burials. There's a little church-like structure on the west end, constructed with no little skill in what I reckon is an attempt to christianise the site. Near the centre is what I take to be the remains of a central burial with a large capstone. This has been robbed out and thrown back together again.

The all round views from up here are great. Poulaphouca reservoir glistens to the north-east, you can see the ESB power-station on Turlough Hill to the east, Church mountain with its cairn is to the south and the mad expanse of west Wicklow and what seems like all of Kildare, Offaly and Laois are to the west.
ryaner Posted by ryaner
1st August 2007ce
Edited 24th March 2014ce

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