While in the general area I made for this circle which is listed on Jack Roberts map. However I couldnt find it and I note on megalithic.co.uk that an irish guy there recently couldnt find it either.
I wonder did he get it mixed up with Scartaglin which is in the general area also?
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The Arch inventory tells us this wedge tomb is also know as "Niall's Grave".
It says that the other stone to the south is a standing stone however I thought it may have been another part of the capstone.
It is 4.4m long by 1.95m wide. You can clearly see the double lined walling.
I picked this at random from the inventory while in the area, strangely enough while checking directions to the next site (in my jeep) a pack of hunting dogs hopped over a ditch and ran by the tomb and off through the fields. No sign of any huntsmen or other dogs.
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This circle is almost inside someones garden, imagine growing up with that to play with and yet the circle is completely overgrown.
It would be impressive if tidied with its huge recumbent stone.
I accessed the stone from the rear using GPS I didnt realise it was so close to the house as I was using Jack Roberts map at the time.
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The remains of this circle are right next door to a recently built house (prob last 5 years). I parked a few fields down and came up to the circle from behind so as not to cause any bother with the house owners.
Only two stones remain although for some reason the Arch Inventory says that it is complete!
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I hope this circle hasn't been added under a different name.
This circle is about two fields over from Bellmount Upper SW.
The two axial stones remain and what may be the remains of the recumbent stone.
It felt great driving around Cork (using Jack Roberts map and the Cork Arch Inventory) with information to hand knowing that there was going to be something where you were going to (unlike in Tipp and Limerick when you really never know whether what you are going to see is worth the effort or not).
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This circle is right beside the road and there is a lovely welcoming wooden gate at its entrance.
There are a number of stones missing in one section of the circle but as the pictures show you can still get a very good idea as the shape and size of it.
Although Knocknaneirk NE is a more impressive circle, coming from an area with few circles such as Tipperary I was still very impressed by it.
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I picked this site as the first to visit on a wet Cork morning.
I actually thought access was fairly reasonable but I suppose its all about times of the year. I find early spring before the grass gets growing is always a good time to be out and about in the countryside..... very few cows about!
The circle itself is really fantastic, I've seen pictures of it before but seeing it upclose the stones do really have a real "weight" to them. The altar stone and the whole circle is very aesthetically pleasing.
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Myself and my wife and of course the dog climbed up on St. Patricks Day. I had read about a heart attack enducing climb but being honest we didnt find it too bad.
I had read a write up on mountianviews about following a field wall and coming up from the north side and this is what we did, finding the going a lot easier.
When we got up, the cairn itself is great. Its approx 10m diameter. What is really interesting is that every second kerbstone of the kerb is set radially. Since I had heard of it Ive been thinking of a of Mogh Roiths Burning Wheel or a cosmic wheel. I know this is a very rare set-up in Ireland but Im not sure how rare. I tried to unsuccessfully find another radial cairn near Mallow in Co. Cork.
There is also a kist housed in one edge of the cairn and an unusual standing stone on the opposite side of it.
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This court-tomb is right next to the sea and I believe is the most southernly court-tomb in Ireland. When I visited there were a couple of those signs about being on a farm up, so I got in and out pretty quickly.
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Ive passed through the village of Hollyford many times but never saw this sign until about 6 months ago.
It shows directions to a "Cromlech" and also to Ned of the Hills burial place. I found the cromlech which is made up of 3 stones in not any particular pattern. Its not mentioned on the OS map or Archaeology.ie so I do wonder how real it is.
I couldnt find the burial place of "Ireland's Robin Hood" Ned of the Hill but there is a least a Cillin on the OS map where he is reputed to have been buried. Access however appears to be through a farm yard so I didnt attempt it.
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This wedgetomb is only a couple of miles from the village of Portroe and is drivable up to about 50m.
This was one of the first megalithic tombs I visited but I couldnt find any of the old photos so visited it again recently. It looked a bit lonesome here with a entry but no pictures.
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This is less than 500m from the possible standing stone in the same townland.
Archaeology.ie classifies this as a "real" standing stone. The fact that it is next to a ringfort probably reinforces this. It is a small rectangular stone.
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This is marked as a possible standing stone in archaeology.ie. It is in a field next to a road which links the Dundrum and Cappaghwhite roads coming from Tipperary Town. It is more probably a scratching post.
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This monument is wrongly marked as a standing stone on my edition of the OS map 65.
It is located in Curraghchase forest park which is owned by Coillte. There is an entrance fee of €5 which is very steep in my opinion (megalithic opinion anyway).
The gardens are lovely and surprisely there were a lot of people here walking and enjoying the grounds.
The monument is located on a hill in woodland, although not a standing stone it did remind me of being in Narnia or something like that, a monument choked by the woods around it.
If anyone can shed any light on the history of it, that would be great.
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This is an amazing place to visit, the bog island where the Derrynaflan chalice was found. Ive included it here based on the folklore piece I saw on the information board in the town of Templemore on the Goban Saor;
"According to ancient Irish legend, Derrynaflan, an island of fertile land in the middle of The Bog of Allan, was the home of Gobaun Saor, the architect and builder of some of Ireland's and Britain's great ancient stone structures".
More info on Derrynaflan and the Goban Saor
http://slieveardagh.com/info/derrynaflan.html
http://www.libraryireland.com/LegendaryFictionsIrishCelts/I-9-1.php
Derrynaflan Island
Derrynaflan is an "island" of green pasture surrounded by brown bog. This was the site of an early Christian monastery, and also the home and burial place of the legendary craftsman, An Goban Saor.
On 17th February 1980 locals Michael Webb and his son, exploring with a metal detector, found a priceless treasure hoard near the pre-Romanesque church within the monastic enclosure, giving rise to a national controversy about ownership and compensation.
The Derrynaflan Chalice, a silver paten, a paten stand, a strainer and a bronze basin, all dating from the late C8th / early C9th, are regarded as among the most important surviving examples of Insular metalwork found so far. They were eventually "donated" to the Irish State and are now in display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
Derrynaflan also has a remarkable Sheela-na-Gig, the largest of a group of stones about 100m SSW of the ruined C13th Norman church on the hill. The stone depicts a skull at the top and two large testicles at the bottom. In the centre a small face appears, followed by a small body, a vulva and 2 upturned legs. This Sheela turns out to be a sword handle and the head and feet match a fully clothed Norman lord. Two other stones are of a similar pattern.
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In the North Tipp Inventory this is down as a possible hillfort. Growing up we always knew the story about the cross that had been erected here in the 1930s and had been struck by lighting and collasped. It has since been replaced by a metal cross in the 2000s. What is interesting is that they picked this hill to put the cross, similar to other hills which have been christainised, it maybe says something about the older history of the hill.
The Inventory records it as follows "A large irregular shaped area enclosed by two earth and stone banks with intervening fosse (wth 2.5m) visible from S through W to N. The natural fall of the cliff-edge forms the defensive features at E. The inner bank (wth 2.5m; int H 0.7m; ext 2.5m) is the best perserved while the outer bank (wth 2.5m; int H 0.5m) is covered by peat and furze. The ground surface in the interior is very rugged, occupied largely by rock outcrop. There is a low circular platform (diam c.20m) containing a stone edged wall at the N end of the hillfort interior, possibly contemporary with the hillfort construction."
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This unusual arrangement of stones is in a field across the road from the main mound of Borrisnoe.
It isn't marked on the OS map or in the Arch Inventory but to me looks very clearly to be the remains of some kind of megalithic tomb.
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This rath is across the road from a national school and not far from the main mound of Rathcroghan.
Herity's book describes it as "A wide deep ditch, 7m in weight, provided material for a bank 38.50m in diameter which encloses a small area with a convex surface at the top. There is a good deal of stone in the bank which stands out from the knoll in the profile of the monument towards the east. An entrance on the east side is placed opposite a causeway across the ditch".
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Ring-barrow 28.5m in diameter and a ditch and bank. Charcoal found during excavation dates the mound to 150-200 BC.
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This stone is found by walking through a number of fields from Owenynagat. This is cattle country with high barb-wire fences and lots of beefy cattle so I would regard this walk as only for the brave.
According to Michael Herity's book on the area "The standing stone of red standstone is 1.85m high, 1.4m by 25cm at the base. This Coirthe Dearg, Red Pillar Stone, reputedly marks the grave of King Dathí (Nath I), nephew of Niall Noíngiallach, Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was killed by a flash of lightning on an expedition at the foot of Sliabh n-Ealpa".
Niall was of course the slave dealer that brought St. Patrick to the Irish shores (or some my memory of primary school history goes).
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Megalithic explorer from Co. Tipperary in Ireland. Travelling Munster in search of adventures.
Contact me at bawn79@yahoo.com
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