Situated now in a pine plantation this place is actually quite tricky to find, but once found it is a dream. I was actually standing just 5 yards from it looking around when I noticed the circle of kerb stones and what I presume was the door stone standing proud in the center.
It was not until I had taken several shots of it that I realised that part of the chamber is still there, too. It took time to notice this because there is an enormous tree growing on top of the one remaining roof stone; I am not at all sure how on earth it has managed to hang on.
With the sun shining through the branches creating small golden patches on the soft green moss covering the remains I really was transported. A gem even in its diminished state.
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_All Sites Visited On 23rd September 2001 « Previous Site Next Site »
Well, this is what brought me here. The Lugnagun passage tomb. When I last visited it was in the middle of a dense pine plantation, but this has now been felled and semi-cleared. This really does open up the views. I had speculated previously about the view to the north towards Seefin Hill (County Wicklow) and Seahan Hill (County Dublin) and I was more than impressed with the situation. Both of these just poke over the top of the ridge.
Today it was also easier to see exactly what is left of the monument. There is a lot more of the 7m diameter kerb than I had previously thought, which has some interesting features. Most of it is small, dull, dark grey granite stones, but on front of the entrance, facing due west, are two large blocks of granite with a very heavy quartzite content. On the kerb facing due south is another very unusually shaped stone of the same material. Several others are mingled in with the debris and these could have indicated significant directions too.
The chamber is not decorated in any way and the backstone is extremely flat and may have been prepared.
Unfortunately, part of the plantation hasn't been cut down and this blocks out the horizon to the west where the passage would have aligned to.
It was very good to see that a number of fence stakes have been erected around the tomb forming a 25m diameter circle and no re-planting has taken place within this zone. Hopefully the site will be kept clear from now on. It would be excellent if the owner would go a stage further and provide good access to the site.
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_All Sites Visited On 25th April 2004 « Previous Site Next Site »
From Blessington cross the lake via Blessington bridge and follow the lake south. Take the third left road (where the road takes a sharp right) and carry on for about 3km until you reach a parking area on the right. Walk back down the road and take one of the tracks that lead up towards the trees. Follow the north edge of the trees along the ridgeway path. About 20m or so before you reach a litle stream that crosses the track head into the trees. The tomb is about 15-20m inside but takes some spotting.
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Church Mountain (Co. Wicklow) |  Carrowmore Tomb 5 (Co. Sligo) |  Ashley Park (Co. Tipperary) |
 Carrowmore Tomb 56 (Co. Sligo) |  Calliagh Berra's House (Co. Armagh) |  Keadeen (Co. Wicklow) |
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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. |
