The main pointer to this stone circle is the huge standing stone at Maulmore. The stone circle is only about 400m from it. There is what looks perhaps like the remains of a tomb or a cairn in the same field as it.
bawn79
Not sure what they were playing at digging up this field with a hymac but the field and the stone were both in good condition when I visited this summer.
This is a massive stone (as they say probably 4m high) and what is even stranger is that it isnt marked on the OS map that I own. The texture of the stone has a lovely colour and shade to it.
This standing stone is about 300 m from the stone circle. My memory fails me on the height but I think it was about 1.5m high.
Rylane is just off the road about 1.5km from Rylane village. You don’t see it as you pass by but you should be able to see the nearby standing stone. Find the standing stone and the stone circle is just over the ditch to the west.
The circle is given as having a orientation of 220° and is also noted as having a possible winter solstice orientation.
I tried visit this circle and the other to the NE, both to no avail Im afraid. This one in particular looks amazing from the ground plan however it has been swallowed up in the undergrowth. This would definitely be a circle that you would love to purchase and restore to its former glory. However by the looks of the warning signs it does not appear as if the local farmer has much interest in it other than keeping people away from it.
I have to agree with everyone below, parking here really is a pain. That along with the fact that it is down as a standing stone on my old version of the OS map makes this a tricky site to get to. I drove up and down this road a number of times before eventually parking a little up from the T-junction at about the only gateway that doesnt cause you to block what is a narrow road.
Its a fantastic site, unfortunately the electric fence does take away from it. The day I visited there were a number of curious cows / bullocks in the field right up to it and as such you didnt feel like staying around for too long.
I understand that these two bullauns were only rediscovered in the last 10 years. They aren’t in the Archaeological (hard copy) or the updated version on www.archaeology.ie.
This stones are close to the fields were I grew up and used to play in so its amazing that they weren’t known of in the locality. The day I checked them out they were full of cow poo, so this enough of this in them and they would be hard to identify.
A section of the newly upgraded Lough Derg Way passes by the stones so taking this track is probably the easiest way to view them and also a great walk with proper walking stiles and no cows to worry about.
The stones are both earthfast and approx 200 yards from the path.
I first spotted this bullaun stone when a niece (on my wives side) got christained here and had meant to get back to photograph it. It seems from the record below that it was moved from somewhere else
From www.archaeology.ie;
Description: Located in the grounds of the R.C. church in the village of Kilbarron (Newchapel), the bullaun stone is situated to the E of the church. A small granite boulder (dims. 0.7m x 0.7m x 0.3m) with a deep circular depression (diam. 0.3m; D 0.2m) that was originally found in a field beside an old building that was locally believed to have been a possible church. This building is depicted as a large T-shaped building on the first edition OS six-inch map. There is a cattle crush located now where this building was originally situated, with no evidence remaining of this large T-shaped building. This building was located in the adjoining townland of Carrigagown North. A second bullaun stone (TN009-066) was discovered at the site and was moved to the grounds of a private house in Skehanagh.
This site is mentioned in Geraldine Stouts book on Ely O’Carroll County.
I followed the nearby stream down to it, this is really is horse country and as I was halfways into the field it was in, two horses appeared and chased my dog Ned into the river, he barely escaped there hooves. Im sure they were just playing but this does high-light the dangers of the countryside and bringing a dog with you.
This is a monument that I hoped may show some kind of alignment with the “Devils Bit”, unfortunately it really doesnt.
Ive just discovered that www.archaeology.ie now provides descriptions so as per the website please find the following;
Description: Situated on flat pasture in an upland area with nearby river to SW. A large triangular-shaped conglomerate boulder (L 1.4m; T 0.9m) resting on three small support-stones with two front pad-stones to the SE and a single backstone to the NW. A large boulder immediately W of the burial probably represents natural rock outcrop or field clearance and does not appear to be associated with the site. According to local tradition the site was known as a ‘giant’s grave’ (Stout 1984, 17).
The Ballyhoura Project mentions this as being a radial cairn. I tried to visit this before heading up to Knocknafalia but the pursuit was unsuccessful. The summit of the hill is covered in prickly scrub and there was no sign of any radial cairn up there.
We got up as far as the trig point and then headed east but after about 200m we couldnt get any further.
While in the general area I made for this circle which is listed on Jack Roberts map. However I couldnt find it and I note on megalithic.co.uk that an irish guy there recently couldnt find it either.
I wonder did he get it mixed up with Scartaglin which is in the general area also?
The Arch inventory tells us this wedge tomb is also know as “Niall’s Grave”.
It says that the other stone to the south is a standing stone however I thought it may have been another part of the capstone.
It is 4.4m long by 1.95m wide. You can clearly see the double lined walling.
I picked this at random from the inventory while in the area, strangely enough while checking directions to the next site (in my jeep) a pack of hunting dogs hopped over a ditch and ran by the tomb and off through the fields. No sign of any huntsmen or other dogs.
This circle is almost inside someones garden, imagine growing up with that to play with and yet the circle is completely overgrown.
It would be impressive if tidied with its huge recumbent stone.
I accessed the stone from the rear using GPS I didnt realise it was so close to the house as I was using Jack Roberts map at the time.
The remains of this circle are right next door to a recently built house (prob last 5 years). I parked a few fields down and came up to the circle from behind so as not to cause any bother with the house owners.
Only two stones remain although for some reason the Arch Inventory says that it is complete!
I hope this circle hasn’t been added under a different name.
This circle is about two fields over from Bellmount Upper SW.
The two axial stones remain and what may be the remains of the recumbent stone.
It felt great driving around Cork (using Jack Roberts map and the Cork Arch Inventory) with information to hand knowing that there was going to be something where you were going to (unlike in Tipp and Limerick when you really never know whether what you are going to see is worth the effort or not).
This circle is right beside the road and there is a lovely welcoming wooden gate at its entrance.
There are a number of stones missing in one section of the circle but as the pictures show you can still get a very good idea as the shape and size of it.
Although Knocknaneirk NE is a more impressive circle, coming from an area with few circles such as Tipperary I was still very impressed by it.
I picked this site as the first to visit on a wet Cork morning.
I actually thought access was fairly reasonable but I suppose its all about times of the year. I find early spring before the grass gets growing is always a good time to be out and about in the countryside..... very few cows about!
The circle itself is really fantastic, I’ve seen pictures of it before but seeing it upclose the stones do really have a real “weight” to them. The altar stone and the whole circle is very aesthetically pleasing.
Myself and my wife and of course the dog climbed up on St. Patricks Day. I had read about a heart attack enducing climb but being honest we didnt find it too bad.
I had read a write up on mountianviews about following a field wall and coming up from the north side and this is what we did, finding the going a lot easier.
When we got up, the cairn itself is great. Its approx 10m diameter. What is really interesting is that every second kerbstone of the kerb is set radially. Since I had heard of it Ive been thinking of a of Mogh Roiths Burning Wheel or a cosmic wheel. I know this is a very rare set-up in Ireland but Im not sure how rare. I tried to unsuccessfully find another radial cairn near Mallow in Co. Cork.
There is also a kist housed in one edge of the cairn and an unusual standing stone on the opposite side of it.
This court-tomb is right next to the sea and I believe is the most southernly court-tomb in Ireland. When I visited there were a couple of those signs about being on a farm up, so I got in and out pretty quickly.
Ive passed through the village of Hollyford many times but never saw this sign until about 6 months ago.
It shows directions to a “Cromlech” and also to Ned of the Hills burial place. I found the cromlech which is made up of 3 stones in not any particular pattern. Its not mentioned on the OS map or Archaeology.ie so I do wonder how real it is.
I couldnt find the burial place of “Ireland’s Robin Hood” Ned of the Hill but there is a least a Cillin on the OS map where he is reputed to have been buried. Access however appears to be through a farm yard so I didnt attempt it.
This wedgetomb is only a couple of miles from the village of Portroe and is drivable up to about 50m.
This was one of the first megalithic tombs I visited but I couldnt find any of the old photos so visited it again recently. It looked a bit lonesome here with a entry but no pictures.
This is less than 500m from the possible standing stone in the same townland.
Archaeology.ie classifies this as a “real” standing stone. The fact that it is next to a ringfort probably reinforces this. It is a small rectangular stone.
This is marked as a possible standing stone in archaeology.ie. It is in a field next to a road which links the Dundrum and Cappaghwhite roads coming from Tipperary Town. It is more probably a scratching post.
This monument is wrongly marked as a standing stone on my edition of the OS map 65.
It is located in Curraghchase forest park which is owned by Coillte. There is an entrance fee of €5 which is very steep in my opinion (megalithic opinion anyway).
The gardens are lovely and surprisely there were a lot of people here walking and enjoying the grounds.
The monument is located on a hill in woodland, although not a standing stone it did remind me of being in Narnia or something like that, a monument choked by the woods around it.
If anyone can shed any light on the history of it, that would be great.
This is an amazing place to visit, the bog island where the Derrynaflan chalice was found. Ive included it here based on the folklore piece I saw on the information board in the town of Templemore on the Goban Saor;
“According to ancient Irish legend, Derrynaflan, an island of fertile land in the middle of The Bog of Allan, was the home of Gobaun Saor, the architect and builder of some of Ireland’s and Britain’s great ancient stone structures”.
More info on Derrynaflan and the Goban Saor
slieveardagh.com/info/derrynaflan.html
libraryireland.com/LegendaryFictionsIrishCelts/I-9-1.php
Derrynaflan Island
Derrynaflan is an “island” of green pasture surrounded by brown bog. This was the site of an early Christian monastery, and also the home and burial place of the legendary craftsman, An Goban Saor.
On 17th February 1980 locals Michael Webb and his son, exploring with a metal detector, found a priceless treasure hoard near the pre-Romanesque church within the monastic enclosure, giving rise to a national controversy about ownership and compensation.
The Derrynaflan Chalice, a silver paten, a paten stand, a strainer and a bronze basin, all dating from the late C8th / early C9th, are regarded as among the most important surviving examples of Insular metalwork found so far. They were eventually “donated” to the Irish State and are now in display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
Derrynaflan also has a remarkable Sheela-na-Gig, the largest of a group of stones about 100m SSW of the ruined C13th Norman church on the hill. The stone depicts a skull at the top and two large testicles at the bottom. In the centre a small face appears, followed by a small body, a vulva and 2 upturned legs. This Sheela turns out to be a sword handle and the head and feet match a fully clothed Norman lord. Two other stones are of a similar pattern.
In the North Tipp Inventory this is down as a possible hillfort. Growing up we always knew the story about the cross that had been erected here in the 1930s and had been struck by lighting and collasped. It has since been replaced by a metal cross in the 2000s. What is interesting is that they picked this hill to put the cross, similar to other hills which have been christainised, it maybe says something about the older history of the hill.
The Inventory records it as follows “A large irregular shaped area enclosed by two earth and stone banks with intervening fosse (wth 2.5m) visible from S through W to N. The natural fall of the cliff-edge forms the defensive features at E. The inner bank (wth 2.5m; int H 0.7m; ext 2.5m) is the best perserved while the outer bank (wth 2.5m; int H 0.5m) is covered by peat and furze. The ground surface in the interior is very rugged, occupied largely by rock outcrop. There is a low circular platform (diam c.20m) containing a stone edged wall at the N end of the hillfort interior, possibly contemporary with the hillfort construction.”
This unusual arrangement of stones is in a field across the road from the main mound of Borrisnoe.
It isn’t marked on the OS map or in the Arch Inventory but to me looks very clearly to be the remains of some kind of megalithic tomb.
This rath is across the road from a national school and not far from the main mound of Rathcroghan.
Herity’s book describes it as “A wide deep ditch, 7m in weight, provided material for a bank 38.50m in diameter which encloses a small area with a convex surface at the top. There is a good deal of stone in the bank which stands out from the knoll in the profile of the monument towards the east. An entrance on the east side is placed opposite a causeway across the ditch”.
Ring-barrow 28.5m in diameter and a ditch and bank. Charcoal found during excavation dates the mound to 150-200 BC.
This stone is found by walking through a number of fields from Owenynagat. This is cattle country with high barb-wire fences and lots of beefy cattle so I would regard this walk as only for the brave.
According to Michael Herity’s book on the area “The standing stone of red standstone is 1.85m high, 1.4m by 25cm at the base. This Coirthe Dearg, Red Pillar Stone, reputedly marks the grave of King Dathí (Nath I), nephew of Niall Noíngiallach, Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was killed by a flash of lightning on an expedition at the foot of Sliabh n-Ealpa”.
Niall was of course the slave dealer that brought St. Patrick to the Irish shores (or some my memory of primary school history goes).
We visited this amazing site as part of last years Irish megameet. Access to the site is good, its up a lane and it seems to be ok to drive up and park beside it.
Thats the easy part, getting the courage up to slither in and see what is inside is another thing.
I understand that a reused ogham stone acts as the lintel to the souterain and this in turn leads to the limestone.
megalithomania.com/show/site/2240/oweynagat_cave.htm
Fourwinds gives us a little bit on the massive folklore associated with this spot.
Id highly recommend bringing some clean clothes because it was very muddy inside and this was the height of a very dry summer so I would imagine that it could be dangerous during wet spells.
The Claidh Dubh is a linear earthwork of approximately 22.5km in length.
Its first mention in literature was in 1846 the earthwork"is a remarkable ditch which runs westerly from Cappoquin, into the couny of Cork, how far is uncertain. This the Irish call Clee-Duff, and give several uncetain and improbable reasons for this work. As it extends through the plain along the sides of the mountains, it is conjectureed that this was no other than a fence or boundary made to preserve their cattle against Wolves, which coming down from the mountains made frequent havock among them; and this seems the most probable cause why this entrenchment was cast up”. (Ballyhoura Hills Project)
However it is thought that townlands / parish / land divisions do stop on either side of the earthwork and this division dates back in written record to 12th century.
The following link dates the earthworks construction to prior to 100AD and this date links to to other earthworks in Ireland such as the Black Pigs Dyke up North.
excavations.ie/Pages/Details.php?Year=&County=Cork&id=6087
My own impressions of the sections I located was that if this is a linear earthwork then there may be other such earthworks left undiscovered as to me it was indistinguishable from other sections of ditch around it.
As the Ballyhoura Survey says the most prominent feature of this hillfort is the ruins of the castle in its centre. Those who travelled the old N8 will probably remember this castle as a landmark between Mitchelstown and Ferymoy. Now on the new M8 its much more difficult to see.
The height of the fort is 210m and it doesnt really dominate the surrounding area.
It encompasses an area of 12ha and is 470m east-west annd 330m north south. The rampart is quite clear to the eastern side (where I walked up from) but trickier to follow through scrub on the other sides.
This hillfort is right on the limerick/cork border. A road runs along the northern slopes of the Darragh Hills. There is a signpost for Castlegale hillfort where you can park at the entrance of the forestry track. I went the wrong (but interesting) way climbing over the hill and approaching from the south but you could follow the track east and approach from the north.
Approaching from the south I came upon what looks like the remains of a megalithic tomb built into a stone boundary wall.
The hillfort itself using a natural knoll of rock which gives it cliff faces to the north. There is a double rampart to the south and a single one to the north.
It is known locally as ‘the citadel’.
Seemingly it was heavily forested when the Ballyhoura Hills project surveyed it but the trees must recently been cut.
“The enclosed area is 13,799m2 (1.4ha) and the fort measures 138m (externally) from the northern to southern ramparts; and the interior id 109m (north-south) by 114m (east-west)”
Ive tried to put up an aerial view from Google Earth but this is a fuzzy area on the ireland map.
This standing stone marks the gap in the southern ramparts of the hillfort. It is referred to in the Ballyhoura project as a standing stone.
This cairn stands on top of Castlegale hillfort. The Ballyhoura Hills project refers to it that “it is possible that it was a prehistoric burial cairn, given the spread of stone strewn around the hilltop and the occurrence of similar cairns in locations such as Carntigherna and on the Galty Mountains.”
It is also meant to be the remains of a tower built by the Castle Oliver estate and when the owners of the estate reputedly flew a flag from the tower when in residence.
Id follow what the Ballyhoura project says, that it is likely to have been a reused prehistoric cairn.
This cairn is on top of a prominent hill just outside the town of fermoy in Co. Cork. Anyone taking the M8 from Dublin to Cork will probably have noticed its prominent cross while passing.
This seems to be another Christainised hill in Ireland. The hill is home to this huge cross on top and a “stations of the cross” walk. A sign-post on the way up to the hill reads that “stations” take place every friday morning on the hill still.
Along with the stations this hill has some great walks and now seems to be widely utilised by walkers, dog-walkers and there were some guys getting ready to go moutain biking as I was leaving.
I had an older version of the OS map without the M8 on it and so finding the correct route up was a little trickier. Basically the road to the main car-park is south of the two roundabouts up onto the M8 using an overpass of the M8 (If that makes any sense)
The walk from the car-park to the cairn on top is about 20 mins. I went left up the hill (which is shorter and I think follows the “station” route) rather than right which takes you on a longer walk to the top.
The cairn on top is very impressive, I from The Ballyhoura Hills Project it measures 40m (east-west) by 26m (north-south) and height 4m. Seemingly it is much robbed with its stones being used for a boundary around the hill and the cross itself which was built to commemorate the 19th century of JC’s death.
It was also excavated in the 1830s when they found a cist within. It was a double-compartmented cist which contained pottery vessels. The cist was found after moving hundreds of tons of stone. One chamber contained fragments of a vessel for food and the other ashes. There current location is unknown.
A WWII lookout post or bunker was also built into it.
I remember seeing this in that book by Geraldine Stout on the Ely O’Caroll area and it was described as a barrow. The OS map describes it as a barrow but then when you go to the Norht Tipp Arch inventory it is described as a ringfort.
What can I say except it is just outside of Templemore and easily viewable from the road. The ditch of the barrow is easily discernible.
This stone circle is only a few miles from where I grew up and yet the first time I visited was only last sunday.
I knew about it since I got interested in megaliths but from the few pictures I had seen, it didnt seem worth visiting. However after seeing it in the stone I think I was very wrong.
I dont know if the picture does it justice but the circle could be very easily made out in the snow conditions showing the east west axis of the circle.
Its tricky enough to find in the plantation but for me that was half of the fun. Its weird but the tree plantation around it gave the circle a sense of otherworld-ness.
This is one of Limericks “Megabarrows” along with Rathanny, Coolalough and Ballinscaula. The barrow must be about 10-15m in diameter.
Finding it is quiet easy it just north (2 1/2km) of the town of Hospital and right on the side of a small boreen.
From the North Tipp Arch Inventory
“Kerb Circle (Possible) Situated on a poorly drained E facing slope in an upland area overlooking the Nenagh river valley to the SE. The site consists of a circular area (diam 9.1n N-s; 10.3m E-W) defined by 10 low orthostats with a possible entrance gap (Wth 1.9m) at N where two of the largest stones survive. The stones range 0.4-0.9m L 0.10-0.15m and 0.2-0.7m H. The grass covered interior has evidence of several slabs barely protruding above the surface”
This was my second time looking for this site. I followed the GPS this to the grid ref in the Inventory and did a good scout around the area.
It really doesnt look like much, there are a few stones barely protruding above the surface in a very marshy area.
It may save someone going looking for it, on the other hand maybe the Grid Ref is wrong.
This hillfort is a couple of miles from Castlerea in Roscommon. The “fort” has 4 ditches and has two mounds within it. They are thought to be bronze age burial mounds and as such Rathra is thought to be a ritual monument. The is another huge mound to the east (which for some reason I didnt take a photo of) which is a possible passage mound.
It is a highly impressive monument and difficult to photograph but well worth a visit. There is a sign into the field where it stands and a stile so there doesnt seem to be any problem with access.
I also saw a very unusual stone within the complex. This stone looked to me like a cross between a sile na gig and a bullaun stone. What is even of more interest was the unusual fossil in one “leg” of it. I wonder was this some kind of inaugeration stone and if anyone has any more information on it.
Some links to further info on Rathra.
I visited this site and Proleek Dolmen after a wedding in Ballymascalon Hotel (the Dolmen is actually to the rear of the golf course of the hotel).
I remember having read about it in an edition of Archaeology Ireland and decided to have a quick look the morning after the wedding.
I wish I had done a bit more research on it as after reading Fourwinds fine fieldnotes on the site, I missed out on a possible basin stone of a passage tomb.
megalithomania.com/show/image/3055
Since Fourwinds visit in 2003, they have put up an bit of an information board which gives the various actions of the “pattern” that are to be performed.
There is one double bullaun know as the “Knee stone” and one shallow single bullaun know at the “Head stone”.
The shrine itself is just off the M1 motorway and has a fine big car-park.
This hill-fort isnt that prominent and cant be seen from the road below. I visited last Autumn but have had trouble locating the pictures from that visit. The hill is 315m high and the centre of the hill-fort is scrubby.
This cairn is on top of Knockanora, a prominent hill at 420m in North Tipperary not far from Borrisoleigh. I started walking up from S004709 which is the rear of a stone farm-house. You can follow a track approximately 3/4 of the way and then I followed a sheep track through the heather/brush.
The cairn itself isnt massive (approx 2m high) and a shelter has been built on top of it. There is also a trig point constructed on top of it too.
It is not listed in the Arch Inventory for North Tipp. Any information about its antiquity would be appreciated.
This barrow is just inside county Tipperary in the area of Johnstown.
It is in an dry island area in a bog as the name “Togher” gives away. A Togher is a timber roadway through a bog.
The barrow has an internal ditch which had me thinking that it may be a henge and it has an causewayed entrance to the SE. Part of the ditch is water-logged. The inventory gives the barrow a diameter of 30m. To get to it is possible via a bog-road that gets you to with 100m of the barrow. The OS map shows that there are no houses in the vicinity of this track but there is now one right at the roadside.
Funnily enough being from the area it was only last winter when there were no leaves on the trees that I spotted what is listed as a motte. I checked the inventory thinking to myself that it had a very mound like look to it.
What really took my interest is the fact that just about 200m to the west there has been an excavation on an enclosure. This enclosure according to the inventory “suggested that Tullahedy represents an extensive ritual area from the Neolithic period on a scale previously unknown in the Irish archaeological record”.
When they excavated the enclosure they found “Polished stone axes, chert arrowheads, struck chert, stone beads and a pendant were recovered from the fill of this ditch”.
Now Im not saying that this motte is from the Neolithic but I am suggesting that perhaps further investigation should be focused on it especially knowing the Normans reuse of ancient mounds for their mottes and also the fact that is metres from “an extensive ritual area”. The inventory suggests that “A natural hill which has been scarped to form a steep-sided flat-topped mound (top diam. 19.2m N-S; H11m)“.
This is listed in the Inventory as a possible megalithic tomb. It is within 400m of the main mound at Ashleypark. The inventory gives this as its reasoning that it may not be genunine “The awkward siting of this feature, its location in a disused farmyard complex, and its lack of clear diagnostic features raise uncertainty as to its nature and antiquity”.
Im curious to what other people might think of it, my own thoughts after viewing it is that it may be genuine.
I found reference to this headstone while parked in the tiny village of Glenroe (which actually does exist). Another time while passing through this area I spotted the sign for the graveyard itself and took a spin to see it. Its not far from the crossroads that is marked with a sign Darragh.
The art itself consists of a cross, a backwards P and a long snaky symbol.
The info board has this to say about it “A large stone, resembling a headstone, which may also be seen in the graveyard, appears to have ‘Rock Art’ (abstract images carved on stone), which may also date from the Megalithic or Neolithic periods”
I think this is unlikely however and it may more likely be Christian art.
I tried to find this tomb once before but failed. The OS map shows it to be in the middle of some forestry. This forestry turns out to be apple trees and the wedge tomb is actually in open grass to the south of the apple trees.
It is very close to the rear of a farmhouse so I would recommend perhaps coming in by the lane and asking for permission. I happened to have came in from the rear thinking that the trees would cover my approach.
The capstone on this tomb is pretty huge as the pictures show. The isnt much of a chamber, the sidestones have fallen in and what would have been a chamber now seems to be full of smaller stones. There is a pool about 100m to the east and there is one stone in it that looks like it may have once been part of the tomb.