¹Wood-Martin, W. G. Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland. Vol. 1. London: Longmans, Green, & Co. 1902. 188. This passage may be read in its entirety here.
In another of publication, the author wrote, "Fairy Doctors' recommended the sacrifice of a black cat on the tomb, with the object of propitiating the spirit supposed to guard the hoard; and the contents of the urn, if carefully watched till midnight, would, under these circumstances, again assume its real [golden] character." (Wood-Martin, W.G., The Rude Stone Monuments of Ireland: Co. Sligo and Achill Island. Dublin: Hodges, Figges and Co., 1888. 140.)

²Byrne, Patrick. "Digging for Gold at Cloghanmore." Personal interview. 25 July 1980. The individuals in the portrait of Mr. Byrne and his family are: Angela Byrne, Lorraine Byrne, Patrick Byrne, Cathy Byrne, Karen Byrne, Katherine Callahan, Peggy Byrne, John Byrne, Patrick Byrne ("Paddy the Miner"). The baby is Michael Byrne, 4½ months old.

³Ferguson, Samuel. "On Ancient Cemeteries at Rathcroghan and Elsewhere in Ireland (As Affecting the Question of the Site of the Cemetery at Taltin)." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Polite Literature and Antiquities 1 (1879): 121-22.
The author further describes Cloghanmore: "All that now remains is the ground-plan and underworks of what appears to have originally been a tumulus or long barrow. The sepulchral cists have everywhere been stripped of their outward covering, and, in most cases, of their roofing-stones. Enough, however, remains to show the general plan, which was composed of two larger circles, placed side by side, and together forming a long oval, with one smaller circle annexed at the southern end. All the chambers were constructed on the ground surface. The passages leading to them either opened externally on the level of the adjoining land, or branched off from one or two principal adits."

⁴Wakeman, W.F. "Proceedings and Papers." The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Fifth 1.4 (1890): 264-65.
The Board of Works is today known as the Office of Public Works (OPW). Wakeman objected strenuously to this restoration, undertaken by the architect Thomas Newingham Deane c. 1886. In his report, Deane wrote, "Foundation stones of a further wall to the west have been discovered four feet below the surface of the bog. A careful examination is being made of the interior, and the cells are being cleared out. I propose to further examine the debris at the western end." (Deane, T.N. "Appendix to the fifty-fifth Report of the Commissioner of Public Works, Ireland." Appendix F, 63. 1886-7.)
Deane was appointed the first Superintendent of National Monuments in 1875, with some controversy regarding his qualifications. An article in the Irish Builder (July 15, 1875, 193) concludes that "...Mr. Deane is, without doubt, an architect of recognised ability and experience; but it must be allowed that the general Irish public are not aware that our worthy architect has ever made the ancient architecture of Ireland a subject of previous study..."
Wakeman wrote that the Cloghanmore stones, "through the reckless operations of ignorant 'conservers,' have been so mutilated that it is no longer possible to form an exact idea of their original peculiarities...Few visitors to the spot will probably be able, without infinite trouble, to recognise this greatest of all the archaic remains of Glen Malin...In the first place, the monument has lately been transformed from a Dumha into a Caiseal. The enclosure has been further lined by a wall of dry stonework, some eight feet, or so, in height, by an average of twelve feet in thickness. Fortunately, this deplorable excrescence was built on the outside; or, rather, its interior face is flush with that of the blocks which form the pristine oval. All the stones used in the construction of this disgraceful sham appear to have belonged to a great carn, or carns, by which the chambers already noticed were anciently surmounted. The entire of the modern work of so-called conservation, here, can only be described as a mockery, a delusion, and a snare, to all unwary archaeological students by whom the site may be visited."
William Borlase wrote in 1897, "In its present condition of restoration by the Board of Works, it is hard to say exactly what its previous appearance was." (Borlase, William Copeland. The Dolmens of Ireland, Their Distribution, Structural Characteristics, and Affinities in Other Countries. Vol. 1. London: Chapman & Hall, Ld., 1897. 240-44.) This selection may be read here.
Kenneth McNally, however, writing in 2006, called the restoration "a perfunctory tidying-up project." (McNally, Kenneth. Ireland's Ancient Stones; a Megalithic Heritage. Belfast: Appletree, 2006. 102-103.)

⁵Herity, Michael. Gleanncholmcille: A guide to 5,000 years of history in stone. Dublin: Na Clocha Breaca, 1998. 52.
The author mentions tombs similar in appearance to Cloghanmore: "on the shores of Donegal Bay, at Behy near Ballycastle in Co. Mayo."

⁶McNally, Kenneth. Ireland's Ancient Stones; a Megalithic Heritage. Belfast: Appletree, 2006. 102-103.

⁷When William Wakeman saw the rock art, he wrote, "Some of the work would seem to represent a style of swastika, with one of its members effaced by the action of frost, rain, and so forth. If, indeed, it shall be pronounced by experts an example of that mysterious figure, it is the only one hitherto discovered in Ireland upon a pagan structure." (Wakeman, W.F. "Proceedings and Papers." The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Fifth 1.4 (1890): 264-65.)
Many visitors to Clochanmore in the modern era, even locals who have made the attempt repeatedly, have been unable to see the Neolithic art engraved on the two stones. The extensive multicolored patchwork of lichens, and the natural weathering of the stones since they were dug out of the bog in the nineteenth century, have worked to make the markings indecipherable except in the most advantageous lighting. In order to make the close up photograph of the concentric circles inscribed on the eastern stone, we had first to trim some of the high grasses that had grown over it.
Other photographers have successfully recorded the rock art. See the Megalithomania website's images here. A photograph of the same concentric circles as shown in our VR environment, shot by Ken Williams (Shadows and Stones) may be viewed here.

⁸An expression of these sentiments is to be found in our interview with Paddy O'Shea, of Co. Kerry, which may be heard here.

⁹McGuire, John. "Keeping the Children Away." Personal interview. 13 July 1979.

¹⁰Danaher, Kevin. Gentle Places and Simple Things: Irish Customs and Beliefs. Dublin: Mercier, 1964. 48.
It would appear that the early church gave its blessing to the looting of prehistoric tombs. Benignus, a disciple of St. Patrick, "...possessed himself of them in company and with the full approval of St. Patrick himself." (Macalister, R.A.S., Ancient Ireland, A Study in the Lessons of Archaeology and History. London: 1935. 35.)

¹¹Grinsell, Leslie V. Folklore of Prehistoric Sites in Britain. London: Newton Abbot, 1976. 66.
The Ardagh Chalice may today to be seen in the National Museum of Ireland.

¹²Gregory, Augusta, and W. B. Yeats. Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland. Vol.1. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1920, 41.
Patrick Kennedy relates the story of a Brian Neil, who "was employed one afternoon by Mrs. Rooney. After finishing his work for the day, he related to her his dream of the past three nights, in which he saw in the rath of Knockmor a big grey stone, and an old thorn tree, and a hole in the middle of them containing a crock at its bottom. He told her he would set out to see if there was really anything to be found there. Leaving Mrs. Rooney with a spade and a shovel, he returned three hours later 'in a very dismantled condition, his hair in moist flakes, his eyes glassy, and his whole appearance betokening one who would drop in pieces if some strong power were not keeping him together.' He gave an account of his ordeal to Mrs. Rooney, telling of finding the crock, but panicking before opening it. She gave him a drink, and he fell asleep from exhaustion.
In the morning, he decided to return to the rath, only to find the crock missing. He confronted Mrs. Rooney, who was the only one who knew of his quest.
'Crock!' said she, 'what are you talking about? Oh, my poor man, you are raving!'
There was great commotion in the neighbourhood...All that the sharpest neighbour could make out was the absence of the farmer and his wife from their house for about an hour on the evening in question. It all resulted in poor Brian losing his reason, and coming to vituperate Mrs. Rooney about once a week at her own door. She always gave him something to eat or wear. By degrees the farm was improved, and more land taken. Her children were well provided for, and so are such of her grandchildren as are now living. Ill-got money does not in general produce such comfortable results." (Kennedy, Patrick. Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts. London: Macmillan and Co., 1866. 169-71.)

¹³O'Donnell, Janne. "Cloghanmore Megalithic Tomb." A Wee Bit of Ireland. Web. 27 June 2012. <http://www.a-wee-bit-of-ireland.com/eire_jul_2005/cloghanmore_01.html>.