25 Nov The Grianán of Aileach
Burt, Co. Donegal Bus loads of schoolchildren drive up the winding road where the Grianán of Aileach dominates the summit. As the youngsters disperse to explore...
Book of Invasions Tag
22 Nov Skellig Michael
Co. Kerry "The scene is one so solemn and so sad that none should enter here but the pilgrim and the penitent." (Lord Dunraven, 1875) "The...
15 Oct The King’s Stables
Navan, Co. Armagh Not a natural feature such as a holy well, this artificial pool was dug out, and allowed to fill in with water, to...
15 Oct Howth Dolmen
Howth, Co. Dublin Nineteenth-century antiquarian Samuel Ferguson believed it to be the grave of the legendary Aideen, who died of grief when her husband Oscar was...
14 Oct Dowth
Slane, Co Meath Dowth means “darkness.” And darkness is what's left for the visitor today. The electricity has been turned off and entrance is generally prohibited....
13 Oct The Gate of the Cow;
Kilmalkedar Keelers Stone
Ballyferriter, Co. Kerry Near the town of Ballyferriter are two stone monuments vividly bringing into the landscape the stories of an enchanted cow whose milk was...
14 Sep Beltany Stone Circle
Raphoe, Co. Donegal To add to the distinctiveness of this stone circle, a horrific-looking Iron Age stone head was found near the monument, perhaps indicating that...
12 Sep The Children of the Mermaid
Enniscrone, Co. Sligo The stones on this seaside bluff in Co. Sligo were not, in legend, people accused of any transgression. Rather, it was just a...
08 Sep Árd Ladhran
Ardamine, Co. Wexford The mound of Árd Ladhran was, in legend, the tomb of Ladhra, who was interred just 40 days before Noah’s Ark set...
23 Aug Keshcorran, and the Caves of Kesh
Keash, Co Sligo It is a steep climb up a hillside, but the view from inside Cormac’s Cave makes it obvious how this location might have...
05 Aug Loughcrew Passage Tomb Complex (Sliabh na Caillíghe)
Oldcastle, Co. Meath On his visit to the Loughcrew hills, also called Sliabh na Caillíghe (The Hill of the Witch) Jonathan Swift heard tales of...
31 Jul The Hill of Tara
Tara has for generations served as the geographic focus for an aspirational sense of national glory, “the most consecrated spot in Ireland,” where blood was...
25 Jul Teltown (Tailteann)
Kells, Co. Meath The Teltown Fair was said to include Olympic-like competitions of strength and agility, even horse races and staged battles. There was also a...
03 May Baslicon Dolmen
Waterville, Co. Kerry This low monument south of Waterville is said to be the grave of Fial, a woman of the invading tribe who died from...
03 May Ardnamagh Fairy Fort
Moynalty, Co. Meath Ireland has remnants of more than 45,000 ringforts. There were once many more, now leveled and lost. That so many have survived is...
03 May Dún Aonghasa (Dun Aengus)
Inishmore, Co. Galway Dun Aengus is precariously perched on the edge of a vertical cliff, perhaps parts of it already fallen down into the churning waters...
21 Apr The City and
the Paps of Anu
Rathmore, Co. Kerry "When you stand in the middle of the Cathair you get great feeling of satisfaction that you're standing here on one of the...
21 Apr Eightercua Alignment
Waterville, Co. Kerry The Eighercua Stone Alignment looks west to Ballinskelligs Bay and the open ocean. The mound on which it sits was likely a ritual...
21 Apr Magh Adhair
Tulla, Co. Clare Did the memory of a first-century warrior’s grave so impress itself upon the early Dalcassians that they enshrined its sanctity for the inauguration...