A visit here was definitely not planned. I somehow took a very wrong turn and happened to drive past this beautiful double court tomb. Walking towards it I was filled with excitement that was only slightly dulled by the surrounding fenced enclosure, which is as usual too close.
The tomb is very impressive and has been renovated quite tastefully. Where stones are missing very small stones have been set in concrete to mark their locations. Be careful of these ñ I nearly tripped over one of them.
You approach via the south court which is lacking an east side and curiously has a large boulder in the middle. From the small stones marking positions it appears that the court had a flat front made of stones or wooden poles. The south chamber is split into two equal parts each about 2m in length.
Walking up towards the north court you pass firstly a small area that may have been a chamber in between the two main galleries. The stones making up the chambers are almost back to back. The north court is much more complete that the south and the chamber is of a similar size and layout.
This is a great site and one for the ìmust visitî list.
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What a place to finish the day! This place has two effects on me, one is that of peace and tranquility (when there are no cars whizzing down the nearby road - which is rare), and the second is one of instilling unease. This is hard to explain, but my first reactions are of fear and withdrawal, perhaps caused by its skeletal appearance.
I sat here, at the rear of the south gallery and wrote up my notes for the day, savouring ever brief interval of peace and quite when the road was still and there was just the singing of a few birds in the air.
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
Cloghfin (Co. Tyrone) | Ballinillaun (Co. Mayo) | Aillemore (Co. Mayo) |
Cornacully (Co. Fermanagh) | Mullaghhawny (Co. Mayo) | Ballynichol (Co. Down) |