August 2003. Notes made with sun-burnt feet. (Damm those walking sandals!)
It was difficult but we made it! If you're going to walk out of one of the many agreeable pubs in the self-styled folk music capital of Ireland before closing time then there's got to be a good reason. On what turned out to be the hottest day of the year, we set off from Fisherstreet to the Teergonean crossroads and turned left towards the sea.
After passing a runied church and a few rustic caravans we found ourselves on yet another dusty track in the west of Ireland looking for something megalihic. This was our first Court Tomb however. Having already bought the revised "Book of the Burren" we knew what we were looking for:
"At Teergonean only four stones of this [fore]court survive but the stumps of others can be detected. Originally the forecourt was probably almost semi circular, the tallest and most imposing of the upright stones flanking the narrow entrance to the long rectangular burial gallery" (p 61).
The constant references to this tomb's ruinous state do not prepare the walker for the site that awaits them. Less than a half a mile from some typically spectacular Burren coastline is a well proportioned and neat little court tomb. Its a tough one, but of all the tombs I've visited I think the only one that I'd like to make that final journey in more than this one would be Pentre Ifan.
This seems to be a little visited place which is surprising given its proximity to Doolin's hostels and campsite and the many references made to it in the Book of the Burren.
We camped in nearby Doolin for a week and returned on several ocassions. You should, at the very least, make a day of a visit here and walk back along the coast for that full Burren effect!