Glad i didn’t listen to the weather forecast as rain and sleet was in the prediction, no such thing, blue skies, sun, and at around 11 am i was enjoying my coffee on top of Poulacapple mountain while the sun warmed my back, it is a lovely walk up there. Very quiet and that there was no wind at all was a bonus.
I started at Rathborney church and walked a mile or so on the road and then there is a green road to the left, this brings you up the mountain, the views are good, you can make a big circle and end up by the corkscrew hill, but that is quite a trip, i normally go till the bog road and turn back, there are 3 wedge tombs on the walk.
Sadly they are in a sorry state, but still interesting. On top of the mountain there are 2 together, one still resembles a bit of a tomb, the top slab is collapsed, but you can still see the outlines, the second one is next to it but only a mess of big slabs, they must have been quite a sight in their time. Just over the hill you can stumble over to Durranavahagh, this tomb in excellent shape.
In the same field is what looks like one of these megalithic stone quarries, 3 huge slabs, leaning on each other, ready for the pick.
When you go back down, you see at some point a ring fort in front of you, when you walk to it there is the 3rd tomb, it is quite ruined as well, but still the outlines are okay and you can make out what it is, there are 2 big stones standing tall, maybe some sort of entrance.
All in all an interesting mountain, you have a good view towards Burrenwee , that is for my next trip .

Happy new year to everybody, and Tom, i like your ideas for the website, roll it on i’d say.

Went up to Turlough Hill yesterday, very cold, you needed to keep moving, first to the 3 early Christian churches at the bottom of the hill, they are being kept very well, a lot of the hazel has been cleared and you can see them properly.They are absolutely lovely, one of the bigger ones has a nicely carved font in the corner, the gates are closed, but it you are with 2 people you can help each other over the walls.
The climb up is quite heavy, this mountain is probably the hardest in the Burren, it is not the highest but because it is quite steep you don’t get a lot of respite from the climb, worth it though, the views are great, there is a big enclosure on top of the hill, some hut foundations, and the big cairn, this one really stands out, in my enthousiasme once i fell in a big hole there , imagine that, being swallowed up by a mountain, it could happen, i was down in the ground till my waist, got a bit of a fright about that. I walked the ridge of the mountain and came down by the well , it was bitterly cold, the wind made it worse, so i did not linger that long on the top. The fields around the Hill are normally very soggy, but due to the dry spell very walkable today.

Well, back in the saddle, started very early this morning to walk up to Slieve Carran in the Burren to visit the cairn there, a lovely walk in freezing weather, everything was dusted with a white coat of ice and snow , the skies were pink and red, not a soul to be seen. The cairn was surrounded by a big amount of cows and some of them were half in the fog, so i saw heads only , eerie. Slieve Carran is a interesting mountain, the first time I went up there is two years ago, on the way up in a field there were white horses. Then when i was on the track near the cairn i looked sideways and 20 yards in the field I thought i saw a body there, it gave me a jolt and on further investigation it turned out to be a huge wooden angel,man sized, it was amazing, an altar had been built and this male angel was lying there looking up, there were no feet, but big wings, a well carved face and body. On the body was jewellery, several pieces and on the piece of limestone was a form of mosaic, pieces of glass and some images of mythical figures, it looked like somebody had done a ritual there, there was also a bowl with whitered herbs and separately a carved wooden face. It looked beautiful, and because it was an angel i thought, why not, I do a wish, I had two wishes, very connected, one wouldn’t have worked without the other, and I put my hand on the angel and did my wish. Within three weeks my wishes had come true, it were two life changing wishes that i had waited for more than 10 years, so i really felt touched by an angel there. I went up again then with a friend two months later and the angel had gone, there was evidence of burnt wood on the track . Anyway, all was quiet there today, no mystique, maybe in the spring again, i will never forget this angel.
I still wonder how it got there, it was so big and heavy, there is no wood in the surroundings, so if somebody carried it up the track for two miles, quite a trip.

I haven’t heard back from the archaeological department in Clare in relation to maintenance of the wedgetombs, pity, don’t know where to go now.

I just want to say thank you for sharing your love for our heritage and acknowledging the beauty of many of our lost and forgotten works or art. I am a duaghter of the man who owns the land in Derrynabalha, County Kerry and I know you've made by dad a very proud man.

I can sympathise with you on your journey of discovery as I have walked in your footsteps for a school project back in the day and I know photographing such rocks is a difficult task.

It's fantastic to see that somebody else appreciates such things and I really do find it hard to belive taht somebody out there has gone to the trouble of visiting this remote part of the world (where I grew up I might add!).

In the Spring of 2009 the locals of the area are publishing a book on the very local history of the area and it has fallen on me to submit a piece on the local rock art. As any memory of my research is very dim at present any information, expertise or guidance you could afford would be greatly apprecaited!

Also I would like to extend an invitation to you that if you ever do return to my part of the world of guide whihc , i'm sure you would agree, would be helpful. My brother claims to discover new noteworthy rocks from time to time that can be easily missed and do not yet appear to be catalogued.

I now live in the bog smoke of Dublin City and a visit to your site has brought me home in a matter of seconds.

Thank you!

One of my favourite websites on the internet.

Have used it countless times in the past, particularly the Down and Antrim area and now using it once more to plan a trip for friends to Sligo for our traditional winter Solstice adventure.

Any tips on a good place to catch the sunset down there? Knocknaree seems like a suitable option but not sure of its alignment with the sin at that time of year? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for a wonderful sire

This is a terrific beginning. I was surprised at how many of these sites I've been to (twelve) even though I've only been to Ireland twice. Generally it seems as if they have a focus on the larger and later monuments, which I suppose, on some level, would make sense. But it leaves out so very much. I think there should be a policy for all sites, for preserevation, at the very least, including those on private lands.

Today I got a reply by post from the OPW.
They explain the role they have in relation to the protection of National monuments. The National monuments section of the OPW is responsible for the conservation, preservation and maintenance of National monuments that are in state ownership or guardianship.
They enclosed a list of these monuments in Clare, they are the following

Seven churches, round tower Inishcaltra
St Flannans church, Killaloe
Kilfenora church
Chancel of Cathedral and Stone Crosses Kilfenora
Franciscan Abbey Kilfenora
Corcomroe Abbey( cist)
Three early Christian churches Oughtmama
Teampull Chronain church
Church and Abbey Inchicronan
Abbey Quin
Dysert O’Dea church, round tower
and high cross
Ruan church
Abbey Ennis
Kilnone Abbey Newhall
Abbey Canon Island
Abbey Clare abbey
Church, round tower Drumcliffe
Magh Adhair, Cregnakeerogue Fort and Toonagh
basin stone

Plot adjacent to Magh Adhair Toonagh
Megalithic Tomb Slievenaglasha
Cahercummaun, Cashlaun Gar
megalithic tombs Tullycommon

St Molua’s church Killaloe
Caher Cahermacnaghten
Carrigaholt Castle and Sea Wall Rinemackaderrig ( guardianship)
Leamaneah Castle
Megalithic Tomb Caherphuca
Bunratty Castle
Dolmen Ballyhickey
Gleninagh Castle Gleninagh
Tau Cross Ballycashen
Dromore castle
Motte( Brian Boru’s fort) Ballyvally
Poulnabrone dolmen

The letter states that although these monuments are in state ownership , that this does not mean that they are all accessible to members of the public. Many, including Lemanagh Castle are on private property and not accessible unless with the express permission of the landowner.
They are referring me to the National Monuments Service of the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government if I want to report damage to any other monuments.
They gave me an email address of the local archaeologist for the Clare area to contact.

Well , what I understand from this is that the OPW is not responsible for the wedgetombs on Roughan Hill, Baur, Moyree Commons, etc, and any other ones that are completely overgrown and some of them nearly impossible to reach .So , my next step is to email the archaeologist in relation to these tombs.
I keep you posted.

This is terrific! Thank you. I look forward to hearing their response (as I am sure others will as well)

Well, fuelled by John B\'s post I decided to email the department of art, sports and tourism.
I got a swift reply back, here it is:



I have forwarded your email concerning the maintenance of wedgetombs and
ringforts in the Burren to the Office of Public Works for their attention
and direct reply to you, as they have responsibility for this area.

Yours sincerely

John Hanafin
Corporate Development Support Unit
Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism
Fossa
Killarney
Co Kerry



So far so good, I wait till I get a response from the OPW and see how we go from there.

I truly enjoy checking in everyday to see where adventurers have traveled across Ireland and what they have seen. I've seen many sites, a good many that haven't been posted, and many that have, but I have one question. What is the policy of Ireland regarding the rebuidling or restoration of sites? At times some sites have been extensively restored, and often to very good effect (although not always). At other times sites are left to fall apart and become over-grown with brush and bracken. Is it totally left up to counties or local historical societies, or even the owners of the land the sites are situated on? Or is there some sort of generic policy that is being followed (for the most part, I can't figure it out)? Here, locally, there is a policy of what they call "arrested decay" ... in other words, they accept the decay that has occured, but will allow no further decay. The guide at Ardfert Cathedral seemed to find that idea appealing, but others thought it was nigh on heresy. Can someone please explain the policy, if there is one?