

January 2014
January 2014
20th November 2011
Under moonlight, May 2010
Taken from JCHAS No.33 1928
Parking available by the sign in the centre of picture
The recumbent (with rain droplet on my lens).
Found this lovely stone circle quite by chance. Whilst wandering around Castletownbere we read about it on an tourist information board. Very easy to find as just uphill out of the town and well signposted. In Jack Robert’s “The Antiquities of the Beara Peninsula” it is described as follows: “The Stone Circle can be found in a field on the right of the lane less than 2 km from the main road. Mind you go left at the one junction. The orientation of this circle seems to be towards the Equinox sun-set. The land around the circle, particularly on the west side, contains much burnt material and in the neighbouring field is a Fulach Fiadh, or ancient cooking place.”
Close by is Teerniatallane (Tir na hAiohleann) Ring Fort.
Visited on the 20th November 2011
We found this one by accident. Driving out of Castletownbere we saw it signposted and followed up the lane. You can pull in and park in a wide gateway, more or less opposite the circle. There is a gateway with information board, leading into the field containing the circle.
The circle has a diameter of 7.8 metres and has 8 stones still standing out of an original 13/15. One of the portal stones lies broken and a further 3 have fallen.
There are fine views to Bear Island
Much easier to find than I expected, it is well signposted from the centre of Castletownbere. Clearly a monument of local importance, it has very easy access and plenty of field space to allow you to stand back and consider how impressive it once must have been in its complete state. It would seem that destroying either one or both of the portals of these stone circles was sufficient to see off the pagan spectre and plenty of the stone circles in this part of the country have a buck-toothed appearance as a result.
Somehow this only adds to this site, the remaining stones couldn’t possibly appear more defiant and proud, this is one of those circles which seems to have a personality ot itself, apart from the human effort put into making and breaking it. A great site.
There is some debate as to whether there were originally 13 or 15 stones on this site.
There is an informative interpretation board at this site. The landowner asks for a small charitable donation and the rear of the board incorporates letters of acknowledgement from, amongst others, Amnesty International.
A delight to visit on such a sunny day.
This RSC lies near the end of the Beara peninsula, just outside the village of Castletownbere. According to Burl this is ‘almost a classic recumbent circle’, with an unusual orientation. It is set almost due W, at 273°, but the surrounding hills are high and the ‘declination is an un-equinoctial 5°’.