bawn79

Rathcroaghan is a huge mound just off the N5 after Tulsk in Co. Roscommon. There is a visitor centre in Tulsk based around the various cairns in the area. It is on the left hand side going north and there is a car-park and a small information board. The field it is in still has a bullocks in it so keep an eye on them.

The stone row is a few miles from the village of Leamlara. To get to leamlara from Cork follow the N25 east and turn off into Carrigtwohill. In Carrigtwohill take a tight left in the middle of the town and follow this road on to Leamlara.
The stone row is down the road from the standing stone. It is just inside the ditch across from a few out buildings (where you can park).
It is made up of three stones, two over 2.4m high and the middle one about 1m. They seemed to be aligned towards the west and I was lucky enough to see the sun set here as it began to rain.

The stone is a few miles from the village of Leamlara. To get to leamlara from Cork follow the N25 east and turn off into Carrigtwohill. In Carrigtwohill take a tight left in the middle of the town and follow this road on to Leamlara.
The stone is at the end of a lane, don’t drive down it as its condition gets worse and there is no place to turn.
The stone itself looks to be red sandstone which looks local to the area and is about 2.4m high.

This is a nice tomb and very easy to find. It is only about 1 km from Kilcommon and just just off the road at the back of a farm. The tomb is massive about 10m by 4m. The stone at the west end of the tomb is massive, the whole 4m. The tomb is aligned east-west with the biggest stone at its western end.
The mahurslieve rises up in the distance, however it is to the north and the tomb doesnt align with it. If you put a few planks over the top of the tomb you would have a very comfy little place to hang out, Its that big! No sign of a kerb on it or anything, it seems very rectangular.

This is a real beauty of a standing stone. It is about two metres high and at its base is probably a second standing stone that has fallen or is knocked.
To get there shouldnt be too bad, I walked cross country from baurnodreemy just to get a feel for the land around the MahurSlieve. I found two possible monuments on my walk so it was worth it. However by car there is a road on the left coming from Rearcross, it passes a few houses so it might be best to ask for permission. Follow this road as it starts to turn to the right and just after the pine plantation stops u can look over the ditch and see the stone in the distance. You can jump over the fence here and follow the bit of forestry clearance along side the fence. Its easier that tracking across the uneven ground which would say it could be dangerous in wet weather.

This is a lovely and quite big passage grave located near Herbertstown and in the vicinity of Lough Gur.
To get there turn off in herbertstown and follow the OS map as close as you can to it (its a very twisty road with lots of turns off etc so an OS map will be required).
At the closest point to the road there are a number of farm houses shown on the map on an acute bend. This is where I gained access, parking about 200m up from the houses.
Basically there is a ridge that you can see from the road, I crossed about two fields and a stream to get up to this ridge. Follow the ridge through some undergrowth, (there seems to be an old path here) up the hill. Coming from this side the tomb looks completely overgrown so I was delighted when I got around to the entrance of it to see it was intact and accessible.
The tomb itself must be 6-7m long. It is on an east-west alignment and there is a capstone in front of the passage in my photos. I climbed up to the peak of Cromwell Hill and there is a cairn there and loads of ditches/defenses. I guess they may have been built during Cromwells time as this hill would have been a great defensive location. From the peak there are great views to the Harps of Cliu and back over towards Lough Gur. The east west alignment to me would suggest it could be aligned to a sunrise over the back of Cromwell Hill.

This tomb is outside Midleton near a hamlet called Saleen. Looking at the map it seems to be on land that is tidal. You can see it reasonably ok from the road side of the river. I made an attempt to use the track on the other side and walk along the shale on the otherside. However the tide seemed to be coming in so I bet a swift retreat. I was looking at the tomb about a half hour earlier than when I took the picture and far more of it was above water so possibly an early morning stop here would allow you to access it easier or worse case with a good zoom to get a good picture of it.

I’m not sure if it is a Portal Tomb but from about 120m away thats what it looked like to me.

Update:
Well I made it over to it yesterday at about 3pm (4th April) and the tide was well out. Im from the midlands so don’t know much about tides you will have to check them yourself.
Its a great looking portal tomb, about 1.75-2m high and to me looks in great condition considering this gets covered in water everyday day of the year. It is actually facing east with, a large stone lieing flat covered in sea-weed that may be the missing stone.
The top of the cap seems to be white and I dont know whether this is the colour of the stone or some kind of paint on it.
To get there follow the path shown on the OS map, you pass some council houses one has a caravan parked outside, until you come to a fallen tree on the path. After this turn right and you come out of the woods into the beginning of the estaury/ wetland. Then just follow the edge of the water, I would advise bringing wellies and a good stick to check the mud that you are walking on.

I went up here not knowing why I wanted to go to fourknocks. As luck would have it the Skerries Historical society had a woman doing a talk on the Landscape of the FourKnocks Valley. She had done her dissertation on Fourknocks so it was great interest I followed their tour. She (Brid) talked about fourknocks one and the barrow cemetery and their relationship with the three henges in the area. She took us to see two of them.
I also got to see the amazing art inside fourknocks and she also reckons that fourknocks is aligned to the sunrise on the 21st Dec but all it does is light up the chamber. There were about 20 people in the chamber so it was difficult to get photos but Ill definitely head back for another look and get the key myself.
Also she noted that you should never put chalk on stone carvings that it corodes them. Dont know how true this is but its something to note for photographers.

She even had a hand-out and it has a great quote about its discovery.
“And it all started whe a lady visitor to Newgrange remarked – ‘But there are mounds like this on my uncle’s farm near The Naul’” (Excerpt from the National Muesum top files on Fourknocks)

This seemingly has been identified as being potentially a passage grave. However no excavations have been carried out on it. However its close proximity to the henge would suggest that it was of importance. Carrying on from Michanstown keep in the same direction until you come to a crossroads, head right here and about 200m down this road there is gate on the right hand side. You can see the tomb from here.

This is right beside the road, from Fourknocks head down to the t junction and turn right (in the direction you get the key), follow this road down until you come to a hard left (after “the halls”) and there is a little bit of grass here that you can stand on to view it.
It isnt that high but this may be due to farm-works. Diameter approx 30-50m?

Fourknocks II
This mound was excavated and they found a number of cremations and a central passage but no chamber. One of the stones in it was meant to have been decorated. I think again with chevrons but im not 100%. Beside the mound there is another National Monuments sign and this is actually the spoil heap from the excavations of Fourknocks I and II.

This is the first time I’ve been to an urban site. This standing stone is about 1.2m high. Its in the Cork City suburb of Mahon. Coming from the south link turn off at the mahon exit, follow the road straight past the PM building and turn left at the traffic lights. Keep going straight until you come to a roundabout, take the exit to douglas and take the next right. Park here beside the churchyard.
The standing stone is about 30m away from here at no. 20 Ardmahon. This stone is literally about 2km from my new place of work so I just had to see it. There seems to be quiet a few standing stones within the urban area of Cork City.
I was talking to a woman looking for directions to the stone and she reckoned that it was used as a scratching post for sheep.

My first attempt at finding a site in Cork and it seems to have gone missing. Its to tough spot to get to although it looks easy on the map. You have to pull in at a dangerous stretch of road near Burnfoot, cross a railway line and fight through a fairly thick ditch to get into the field where it is supposed to be nestled up against the bank of a stream. However when I got through the obstacles there was no sign of it. I have no other info on it really so I dont know what has happened to it. I had a look in the stream and there are some reasonably big rocks in it, possibly the remains of the circle. Its hard to know.
The location of it to me wouldnt have been great, no real wide views, the views would by blocked by a hill at the stream side of it and the other side would be pretty unimpressive.

I couldn’t quite find this tomb, it has been swallowed up by a pine plantation. I think a return trip during the winter, hopefully when there is less grass and fern, may help me find the tomb.
To get to the plantation coming from the east (by road), I stopped at the first gate into the right, it has a small security sign on its gate. I followed the track on the map straight up and keep to the right. You will come to a branch to two different pine planations in the distant (this is subject to plantations regrowing), follow the one to the right. Keep following this path about a half km. You will need a GPS to find it from there. Where I searched was above a lip on the hill.
As an aside I did find a complete deers antler but no tomb.
Update
I decided to head over the mountains from Nenagh to Cahir and as I was passing by Kilcommon I decided to look for this tomb again. When I got up to where the plantation used be, euraka, it was gone, they had cut the trees.
The ten digit OS Ref is R9127659984 for anyone that happens to go up here when the trees have grown back.
Its a small tomb (about 1.25m long by 0.5 high by 1m wide) but it does have some interesting features, like all the tombs in the area it is dominated by the Mahurslieve to the North. To the east there is a funny looking artificial ridge built up and to the west a range of hills with a notch in between.

This is in the same area as the three wedge tombs. Follow the track that leads to the east tomb, however rather than turn right at the farm-yard, continue through the old farmyard and when you are on the other side of it, the standing stone is on the left hand side about 50m away. Its not marked on the OS map and I havent checked the Tipp inventory but im pretty sure it is an authentic standing stone. Its approx about 0.5m high.

Along with Baurnodeemy this must be the most complete tomb on the commons. It is in great condition and has a few unusual features at the rear. The rear of the chamber seems to be almost perfectly straight and there is also a long stone of the same width of the tomb and about 0.5m height lying in the thistles.

This is found by carrying on up the lane from west crowlands to the old abandoned farm-house. Just before the entrance to the farm there is a red gate, open this (its in bad repair so don’t climb over) then there is a gap on the left. Go thru the gap and there are some low blackthorn trees on ur right. Enter the field on the other side of them and look across into the field next door you should be able to see the standing stone. From the stone it is easy to find the tomb.
There is very little left of the tomb but it seems to be perched on top of an unusual hill. There are the remains of a bank around it as well but this may be the remains of an old field system.

This tomb is situated on the bend of a track that can be clearly found on the OS map. The OS map suggests that you can possibly drive up the lane but there is a gate on it, so best to park outside. I met a guy who works on the land and he uses this lane in his landcruiser so try not and block it. The entrance to the lane comes after some turns on the main road coming from the rearcross direction.

This wedge-tomb is just in off the road at a bad junction.

This standing stone is about 1.25m high with a peaked top. After the old houses on the OS map there is a gate. If you have a look over the ditch you can see the tree from the pictures attached.
As i was leaving on the road I found it unusual, Keeper Hill just appears over the hills in the background. Im not sure whether you can see it from the standing stone.

There is a track that leads up to the stones marked on the map. Its tricky enough to spot, basically a cattle crush is at the entrance(heap of gates to the lay man). Follow the track up to the end of it, you should be able to see them between the end of the track and the Mahurslieve. When I first saw them I thought it was a cracked standing stone. However it is two stones about 0.5m high lying up against each other.

Well this is my last hurrah to the kildare area for a while. Id read about this in the Wicklow inventory and was very interested because seemingly when the Wicklow inventory guys came round they heard that this was know locally as the “Old Woman”.
The is also another cairn mentioned in the inventory near the summit of the hill to the south and this is also referred to as “Old Woman”. I searched for this but without a OS grid ref couldnt find it. The peak to the south is a very interesting as it is pretty much a big rock coming out of the hill maybe 30-50 m high by a huge diameter.
To get to the cairn itself there is a forestry track to the north of the cairn. Follow this to the left then right and u will come to a fire-break, follow this fire break until it stops and then keep on the same rough heading through the trees until you come to it.
The cairn itself is big maybe 10-15m in diameter. Probably 3m high. It would be better to call down here in winter when some of the fern will have have died off. I would think the views from here would be spectacular as you can look out to sea to the east and to the north the hills. I took a picture from lower down the hill and you can see that the hills look very unusual from here.

This is across the road from the grange lios and is really very unusual.
As I tried to explain there is a stone row that points north – north west. Then about 5 stones form half a D from this row to the east.
One of the stones is red and possibly made from Barite (I have to check). Another of the stones is a long and low one that is also unusual looking.
To the south of the row there are about three larger stones heaped. Again id be interested what the official view on this is.
I was talking to the farmer that owns the land Tim on a previous visit and he told me about how a healer woman had been at the stones one evening. He said that there had been a big full moon on the night and the woman went over to this row. When she came back she asked him did he have any injuries, seemingly he had a bad back and she cured it by placing her hands on it.
However the moon thing really got me thinking, especially after coming back from Callinish that possibly this row could be aligned to a lunar rising.

Climbing knockfennel is a great way to get a feel for knockadoon and the whole lough gur/ grange lios complex.
You can make out the far bank where the main stone circle is but it is obscured by the trees. The cairn on top is unusual it has a depression in the middle of it a bit like the top of a volcano.

This is on the private part of Knockadoon and they keep bulls on the island so be very very careful. Follow the path from the gate along by the water and you should be able to spot this pretty quickly.
It is known in folklore as the old hags chair. Ill update the folklore later.

In folklore this cave was the entrance to Tir Na Og. I know that every time I head to Lough Gur I feel like ive been there hours but when I look at my watch im only there for like an hour.
This cave can be found by following the path past Bolin island to the gate the separates Knockadoon which is on private property. Just before the gate on the left you can spot a few paths follow them up and you should be able to find it. Careful though the stones are very slippy.

This is a tricky one to find and not a lot to look at when u get there. I would recommend a gps to find it. In the village of Holycross coming from limerick turn right and follow this road until u come to a track shown on the OS map. Follow this track and then thru the farm-yard and towards the hill in front of you. You should pass a ring-fort and keep carrying on in that direction. The tomb itself seems to be on a little rise that doesnt look natural. I think it is on a north-south axis. To be honest there is so much brush and vegetation that is was difficult to make out but it does seem to be made of two rows of adjacent stones and at the northern end there is a bit of a cap stone. All in its maybe 4m long. If anyone has that megalithic tomb inventory of Tipp, Limerick and Kerry maybe they could look it up and see what it says.

I remember driving by this years ago and couldnt find a place to stop. This time I just parked outside a house that is in front of the house. Just jump the fence beside this house and in around the back to the left. U will see one of the stones in this field and then the rest are in the field next to it.
The stones that are there are massive like most of the stone circles in the area. They are lined up in a semi-circle with most of the other side missing except two in the opposite field. They are very close together and I would think that they have possibly been moved like this. They are very overggrown with nettles this time of year and I think a visit in winter with less vegetation was be a good idea. As I said if you use the two stones in the other field as markers this stone circle could have been between 15-20m radius which is very big but its hard to know whether they are in the original position.

This a lovely tomb with a great location. It has views of the harps of cliu and into Limerick and Tipp to the north. The tomb itself is pretty big, being sunk into the heather. Id say the stones are about 1.75m high. The is a path pretty much straight up from the other tomb on the hill at Moanour. It seems to be on an East-Northeast by West-Southwest axis.

Ive been reading the book on Knowth by George Eogan and on his map of the distribution of passage tombs in Ireland he names this site as a passage tomb.
It would make it the only definite passage grave in Tipperary.

I met an old man on the way up to this, we talked about tipperary hurling and he gave me directions. Seems this is hill-walking country and quite a few people go up to this wedge tomb that is associated with the story of Diarmuid and Grainne. The tomb seems to have been visited recently as I could follow a path through the long grass. The tomb itself is overgrown, id say it would be worth photographing in winter when some of the overgrown had receded. It must be about 3-4m long with the main stones being at least 1.5 high.
The conical peak of Temple Hill is what I saw from the tomb but it doesnt seem to be pointed towards it but to the smaller hill in the distance. Ill have to find out its name.

This site is tricky enough to find and is in the middle of marsh land. I used the GPS to find it. Id say you would probably sink before you would find it in winter. It is in heavily undulating land close to a stream. Its about 500mm long. The views from the stone arent very impressive and Id say it is most likely a boundary marker stone.

I couldnt get up close to this one either. One thing I did find very interesting was its proximity to Croghan Hill. I would be very interested to see how Croghan Hill looks from the standing stone. The stone is just below the dip of a hill and I was think that just the belly/breast of Croghan Hill would be visible behind it.
Seems to be some kind of crop down so that should be harvested by the end of the summer so will be worth a second look then.
See this post for an idea of the view from the standing stone in the field just beside it.
themodernantiquarian.com/post/46447

This site isnt far from Kildare travelling north. It is on the Hill called Grange on a lower peak a little to the west. I dont know how old the mound is. It is quiet a big mound between 10m diameter and about 5m high. I was interested in it because of its place on the hills of the curragh plus the folklore/traditional name for the hill is the Chair of Kildare. Ive no idea why that is. The summit of Dunmurry hill also appears to have a mound on top but it is not marked on the OS map and so probably is just a trig point mound.

This is a heavily Christainised site. The Fire Temple is where St. Bridgit’s nuns tended an eternal flame that was put out in 1530 by Norman invaders.

This tradition of the eternal flame must have dated to far older than the early Christain period and its association with St. Bridgit/ the Goddess Brigid make this an important site. There is a vault called “Bridgits Kitchen” as well.

The round-tower costs €5 to go into and is one of only two round-towers in Ireland that has been restored for use as a tower. There is a charge to enter the catheral as well (I can’t remember how much it is). Bizarrely the tomb of one of the bishops of Kildare from the 16th Century has a Sile-na-Gig on it!

Visiting times are from May-Sept (definitely May not sure about Sept) from 10-1am and 2-5pm. Kildare can be got to easily from the M7.

I know there is a lot of folklore attached to this site, the book “How the Irish saved Civilisation” has a good section on the historical Bridgit. I’ve loaned it to a friend, but once I get it back I’ll update this section.

Carbury Hill is on the Eiscar Riada and is close to Trinity Well the source of the River Boyne that runs by Bru na Boinne.
This has multiple phases of use. There are the two barrows that are dated to the bronze age, a motte and of course the tower-house which is impressive and worth a look around. This hill looks very dramatic and you get a feeling that with the mupltiple periods of use this is an important hill. I’m looking for more folklore/history about this site.

Carbury can be found by turning off in Enfield on the M4, the road is windy. Head into the village of Carbury and turn right at in the middle of the village. There is a Protestant church you can park beside. There is also the ruins of another church and graveyard on the hill.

Ive yet to be able to find this well. It is in on an old estate and everytime I try to get in to see it there are bullocks or something blocking my way. The best to park to try is at a Bus Eireann stop adjacent to the gates of the demense. The road in is basically one way with few places to turn so you would have to reverse back out. The big country house is meant to have been built on a passage mound.

This well is around to the north side of the hill opposite the village of Cloghan. It is called a St. Patrick’s well, but it has a Bridget’s cross and statutes and dedications to her.
I would have to speculate that this was originally and Bridget’s well that was taken over and rededicated to St. Patrick.

The best way up to the mound is from Carbury Village itself. Across from the shop there is a little lane which leads up to a few fields which have been used for show-jumping. Follow the gravel path here and then through the fields to the top. Again the views are amazing across the bog of allen and the feeling of this being an island is even more than on the top of the Hill of Allen. This must have been a very important hill as its is the only good land in the area.
To me the mound makes the hill look like the belly of the goddess or possibly her nipple. Ive no idea of the age of this mound so I cant comment on whether it is recent or ancient.

The Hill of Allen stands out of the Bog of Allen like an island. It has an awful lot of folklore attached to it re the Irish mythical hero Fionn MacCumhail (who is often associated with the sun and brightness). There is room for about two cars to park on the south side of the hill coming from Kildare/Newbridge a little after a small power-plant on the left.
There are paths up the hill from here and the views from it are amazing looking over the bog of allen, into wicklow and the curragh and Cloghan Hill is interdivisable from here.

Just outside of the village of Clonbulloge, turn left in the village over the bridge then right after the bridge, follow this road for about 400m and its on the left hand side, is this cute anvil shaped/mushroom standing stone.
Clonbulloge in irish is Cluain Bolg which got me thinking of Fir Bolg so not sure really what it means. The stone seems to be between Clonbulloge and Clonkeen.

Its tricky enough to get up to this hill, its just behind a farm. I snuck up through the crop fields and then across some pasture to just below the top of the hill. The views up here are magnificant and you can see the whole world from up here, the views stretch on for miles. The most important view in my opinon and possibly why the barrow is situated here is the view to the hills to the east.
From right to left, the Hill of Allen has a lot of mythology associated with it.
Taken from www.HillofAllen.net “Allen has always been identified as the home of the legendary hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna. A fortress of white walled dwellings within a rampart, was said to have been built by Nuada, chief druid of the high king. The Fianna was a band of warriors founded in 300 BC to protect the high king. A great battle took place here in 722 AD, one of a series resulting from the adulterous marriage between a Leinster king and the daughter of the king. In the battle some 9,000 Ui Neill were killed, including a bard who continued to recite after he had been beheaded!”
& also
“about a quarter of a mile distant, is a slight eminence called the Leap of Allen, composed of red sandstone conglomerate, arranged in beds varying in thickness” possibly to do with one of them giants jumping myths.
The next hill is Grange Hill, I noticed it is also called the Chair of Kildare. There is an unusual looking mound on this hill which may have something to with this name.
Dunmurry Hill is a very prominent looking hill.
Im a bit tired of barrows for the time being so this is the last barrow chase for a while.

This barrow is small about 5-7m diameter. I missed it the first time i came here as I was drawn to the big military bank.

This barrow looks like it has been dug into quite a bit. It maybe has a diameter of 10m. Not to be confused with the military structure beside it (I did!)

This barrow is part of the golf course. It actually appears to be a double ring-barrow. The outer ring is massive maybe 50m diameter. Inner about 20m.

Another Ring barrow, its quite big again maybe between 15-20m
diameter

Finally something that wasnt covered in furze, this is between 10-15m in diameter id say.

I parked up less than a 1/2 km from here. After a few dissappointing barrows finally one that wasnt completely covered in furze. Id say its diameter is between than 7-10m across.

This is near where they have some jumps for the horses. Whats left of it is covered in yellow furze. However I think most of it has been destroyed and they have a storage area for horse-trailers etc.

This is shown as being on the bend of the curragh racecourse, funnily enough any time your watching racing from the curragh you never see the horses jumping over a barrow. There is no sign of this at ground level.

This barrow is meant to be right beside the road. However it seems to have disappeared under a sea of yellow furze. I could a picture of some wild shrubs but I think we know what it looks like. Maybe if the furze was removed the barrow would be identifible however it cant be that impressive if it doesnt rise out of the bushes a bit.