Gortnavern

Nearest town:
Millford (4km SW)
OS reference:
C218304
OS sheet:
2
Latitude:
55° 7' 13.17 N
Longitude:
7° 39' 29.83 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Gortnavern (Portal Tomb) by CianMcLiam

Seen from behind the wall of gorse

Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com
CianMcLiam
CianMcLiam Jan 7, 2007
Image of Gortnavern (Portal Tomb) by CianMcLiam

From afar, seen from the direction I first tried to approach (signposted route). To get to the tomb from here, you have to cross a small brook, 8 or 9 inches deep at the time I was here.

Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2007
CianMcLiam
CianMcLiam Jan 6, 2007
Image of Gortnavern (Portal Tomb) by CianMcLiam

Gorse is steadily claiming the area around this tomb, two large bushes stood in the two best spots to get the dolmen and the bay behind in the shot!

Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2007
CianMcLiam
CianMcLiam Jan 6, 2007

Articles

Gortnavern

CianMcLiam
CianMcLiam Jan 6, 2007

What a wonderful monument! What superb scenery! Gortnavern is worth the trouble of tracking down, and there is some trouble.

The tomb itself has shifted in on itself but is really quite a fine example of the type, and the location couldn’t be better. IF the gorse was cut back a bit.

It’s not far at all from the village of Kerrykeel (called Carrowkeel on most maps) but the sign points in the wrong direction, this may have something to do with it being battered by shotgun pellets! After a while in the Irish countryside you learn to read the telltale signs that a sign has been turned the wrong direction and this one is of the more obvious type. I followed my GPS to the nearest road and this brought me to an accurate sign, I also spoke to the farmer on the lane and the little I could gather from his thickly accented directions was that you need boots. Well, bog standard now aren’t they? Well, yes, the signpost points you to a stream that was almost a foot deep after the recent rain.

Turning back onto the main road, I found the lane leading to the abandoned cottages. This way involves only some small streams, a number of tied gates, capsized trees blocking the lane, ankle deep mud, barbed wire and thick gorse bushes. Dont attempt this with kids or if your only popping in out of curiosity, only the most hardened stone seeker in the sturdiest of boots will happily take this trip. It is worth it.

Sites within 20km of Gortnavern

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