Ballymacdermot : Court Tomb
Visit Notes
Sunday, 3rd February 2002
This place is special! Still sitting in most of its cairn with just the roof removed a magic spell is cast straight away, as soon as you see it, and you are drawn to venture into the home of the dead.
There are 4 chambers separated by jambs and the central, largest one is dwarfs the others and has part of its corbelled roof still in situ.
A local farmer out for a walk was surprised to see me. Surprised because of the time of year that I was there. Apparently, it gets a little busy here in the summer months and as there is only parking for one (maybe two) cars it maybe wiser to come out of season and have the place to yourself.
The small (5m) diameter courtyard and its segmented body give the impression of a scorpion advancing.
A thoroughly beautiful tomb.
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_Saturday, 19th July 2003
I have found the best way to approach this tomb now. If you take the B113 from the A1 and then take the first right it leads you straight up to the tomb. After crossing a crossroads look up the hill and you will see the tomb from below. This helps you realise what an obscure place the site is located in ... until you arrive there and look at the views.
Some idiot had left a pile of ash and burned cans and bottles in the middle chamber of the gallery. I cleared some of it, but didn't have enough rubbish bags with me do clear it all.
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_Sunday, 7th May 2006
After seeing Clontygora (County Armagh) this one is a real contrast. The perfection of the location and the beauty of the structure itself are almost too much. They really knew how to pick a spot!
There's a nice new sign here now, which is great to see.
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_How Other People Have Rated This Monument
| Philip Powell from ATHY |   |
| PAUL G from GLENGORMLEY | |
| Paul & Audrey from Dundalk Co. Louth | |
Have you visited This Monument?
If so, give it a rating for others to seeDirections
From Newry take the A1 south and then the B113 west. Take the first right turn and go straight over the next cross roads. When you arrive at a t-junction you turn right (not easy) and you will see the tomb 150m along.
Random Gazetteer
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
9.9 Km (E) there is a Standing Stone at Mayo known as Mayo 2 (Co. Down).
5.3 Km (SE) there is a Wedge Tomb at Clontygora.
3.7 Km (SSW) there is a Portal Tomb at Clonlum South.
8.6 Km (SSE) there is a Miscellaneous Site at Ravensdale Park (Co. Louth).
A Selection of Other Court Tombs
 Clonlum (Co. Armagh) |  Massford (Co. Down) |  Carrowkilleen (Co. Mayo) |
 Ally (Co. Tyrone) |  Loughmacrory (Co. Tyrone) |  Gortatoor (Co. Mayo) |
About Coordinates Displayed
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This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |
