Ballin Tagart (Reconstruction)

Court Tomb
J335725

Also known as:

Ballintaggart and Ulster Museum

Nearest town:

Carlingford (62km SSW)

OS reference:

J335725

OS sheet:

Latitude:

54° 34' 58.91 N

Longitude:

5° 56' 5.56 W

Added to TMA by

FourWinds

Images (3)
Fieldnotes (1)
Links (1)

Images

Image of Ballin Tagart (Reconstruction) (Court Tomb) by Kammer

Taken 22nd March 2004: The tomb from a healthy distance (avoiding the stares you get when you get up close to the fence). I’m assured that the window above the tomb is the museum cafe.

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Jun 25, 2004

Taken 22nd March 2004: OK, so not my finest hour. This is as close as I could get to a side-on view of the tomb, hindered only by a six foot wire fence (not Guinness!).

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Jun 25, 2004

Taken 22nd March 2004: Poking the camera through the wire fence, this is the best shot I managed to get of Ballin Tagart.

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Jun 25, 2004

Articles

Ballin Tagart (Reconstruction)

Court Tomb

Kammer Jun 25, 2004

Visited 22nd March 2004: Ballin Tagart is a reconstructed court tomb, now situated behind Ulster Museum. Apparently it was rescued from destruction by quarrying in County Tyrone (thankfully this sort of thing isn’t a problem any more – ahem).

I understand that you can arrange to be shown the tomb my museum staff, or view it from the museum cafe. Time didn’t allow either of these options, so I went for the alternative and walked round the back of the museum where you can see the tomb from the Botanical Gardens. The magic is slightly spoiled by a six foot wire mesh fence, and people walking by give you very strange looks as you peer through the gaps. Still, well worth a visit if you’re in Belfast.

Ballin Tagart (Reconstruction)

Court Tomb

Kammer Feb 3, 2005

Irish Megaliths

This page includes a good photo of the tomb from the Museum and a short description. On the same web site the County Antrim page describes Ballin Tagart:

A four-chambered tomb, originally from Ballintaggart in county Armagh, with a shallow forecourt of 4 orthostats with a good part of the cairn and kerb surviving, has been erected on the far side of the Ulster Museum (just beyond the Queen’s University and overlooking the Botanic Gardens). A good overhead view of the tomb may be had from the museum’s cafeteria – though in recent years the monument has become overgrown and is now surrounded by a hideous fence.