Dolmens Are a Girls Best Friend

'Haroldstown' : Portal Tomb

TownlandNr Haroldstown Waste Center
CountyCarlow
Grid RefS 901 779
GPSS 90069 77933 (6m)
Longitude6° 39' 47.01" W
Latitude52° 50' 41.47" N
Nearest TownTullow (6.9 Km)
OS Sheet61
UTM zone29U
UTM x657382.89004638
UTM y5857570.5413271
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Visit Notes

Sunday, 26th August 2001

We found this one by chance, when my daughter spotted a sign pointing back down the road the way I had just come. I quickly turned the car around and went searching.

As we rounded the bend in the road, just as it crosses a river, the portal tomb stood proud in the center of the field, looking quite spectacular. It is only closer inspection (involving a quick jump over the wall) that lets you see that it has collapsed slightly at the far end so that one of the two capstones lies horizontal.

Despite this, this is still a beautiful tomb, with part of the cairn still visible. It's just a shame that it's so close to the road.

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All Sites Visited On 26th August 2001    « Previous Site    Next Site »

Sunday, 14th April 2002

Just a quick stop by to show this wonderful portal tomb to my friends. Its riverside location on a quiet Sunday is great. Just the river bubbling past and very few cars whizzing by.

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Friday, 27th September 2002

The first site of this tomb when approaching from Carlow and rounding the bend to cross the bridge always makes my heart leap.

All Sites Visited On 27th September 2002    « Previous Site    Next Site »

Sunday, 20th February 2005

This was the purpose of today's little trip. I came here a while ago in the early morning and took some pictures and have wanted to return in the evening to take some more for a while now.

The sunset was beautiful and I managed to get some lovely shots, but I haven't quite got the right equipment to take these photographs properly. I appologise to the many motorists driving over the rather dangerous bridge that were distracted by my antics in the field - I tried not to trigger the falsh while anyone was in a direct line. During the few moments of calm while no cars were passing the site became very peaceful and almost royal (in a very odd way). The tomb stands out beatifully in the twilight. When I first arrived there was an almost ethereal quality to the air and the tomb seemed to hover just above the field or looked as if it was super-imposed there.

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All Sites Visited On 20th February 2005    « Previous Site

Sunday, 17th July 2005

I have to make a comment here about the state we found this site in. Someone had decided to 'honour' the tomb with a few candles. I collected six tealights and 2 normal candles from inside the chamber. Not only did they leave these candles littered about floor, but the idiot(s) had wedged candles between rocks - now set solid in a mass of hardened wax, so I couldn't remove these without causing more damage to the stones. The inside of one of the portal stones has purple wax dripped down it. Removing this wax and the couple of wedged in candle stubs will cause damage to the stones and the lichen growth.

Basically the actions of whoever did this have ruined the tomb for everyone to follow. If it was you who did this then YOU ARE A COMPLETE IDIOT!!!!!!!! For the sake of this country's heritage and everyone's enjoyment please stay away from these sites. Myself and other people do not want to have to tidy up your litter and we certainly don't want to have to look at lumps of melted candle on the stones.

I appologise to everyone else for that little tirade and sermon. I know that most people who visit these sites do show them respect. I always try to adhere to this little motto: Take only memories and leave only foot prints. Do that and you can't go wrong.

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All Sites Visited On 17th July 2005    « Previous Site    Next Site »

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Site Plans

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Directions

Take the N81 north from Tullow and turn right along the R727. After about 3 km you cross a bridge just after a sharp bend. This dolmen is in a field straight in front of you.

Random Gazetteer

A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments

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7.8 Km (WNW) there is a Bullaun Stone at Ballycook.
5.5 Km (NNE) there is a Church at Knocklisheen Beg.
3.2 Km (W) there is a Standing Stone at Tankardstown known as Molly's Cross Roads.
8.9 Km (SW) there is a Standing Stone at Ardristan.
7.7 Km (SSW) there is a Stone Pair at Rathglass.

A Selection of Other Portal Tombs

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