Images (2)
Folklore (2)

Images

Image of Slanemore (Sleamhain Mhór) Barrows by Joseph Moran

A clear shot of all three large barrows at this ancient and mythologically significant site

Image credit: Westmeath Archaeological Society

Joseph Moran Jun 1, 2026

A shot of two of the cemetery’s three prominent barrows, the photograph is dated to 1920, from right to left it shows a stepped barrow and a bowl barrow.

Image credit: Researchgate

Joseph Moran Jun 1, 2026

Articles

Slanemore (Sleamhain Mhór) Barrows

Barrow / Cairn Cemetery

Joseph Moran Jun 1, 2026

From Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society:

“At Slanemore (Slemain Mide) about 5km west of Mullingar is a cemetery of six barrows or burial mounds of the later prehistoric period. Three impressive stepped tumuli are strikingly positioned on the hilltop while three other less prominent barrows, are located lower on either side of the road. Slane More was the location of an encampment of the Ulster forces in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, and it marks the site of an important battle between Ulster and Leinster in the annals AD498”

Slanemore (Sleamhain Mhór) Barrows

Barrow / Cairn Cemetery

Joseph Moran Jun 1, 2026

From Paul Gosling on researchgate (researchgate.net/figure/Photograph-dated-c-1920-of-the-barrow-group-on-the-summit-of-Slanemore-Hill-Co_fig6_325011589) in reference to the black and white image:

“Photograph dated c. 1920 of the barrow group on the summit of Slanemore Hill, Co. Westmeath, 6.5km north-west of Mullingar (Source: Shaw 1921, pl. xxii). The view is from the north and shows three of the five barrows on the hill-from right to left these are RMP WM018-078002, WM018-078001 and WM018-078. In TBC I, Mac Roth, the messenger of Medb and Ailill, describes the arrival of the Ulaid forces here as follows: ‘There came on to the hill at Slemain Mide … a great company, fierce, powerful, proud. I think that it numbered three thousand. At once they cast off their garments and dug up a turfy mound as a seat for their leader’ (lines 3589-3592 and p. 221). ”