This is where I had intended to start my day and I suppose it did really start here, with the two previous impromptu stops being at fairly poor sites. I was amazed to find that there was no one else here, but extremely happy to get the place to myself. Perhaps that is the secret - arrive at 9am on a Saturday morning! I drove past on Sunday and there were 7 cars parked stupidly in the road and a whole hoard of people tottering about the limestone, like a wobbling and lurching bunch of penguins, trying not to break their ankles. Looking at most of them, if somebody had told them it was such hard work walking the 100m from the road they would never have come.
This portal tomb is spectacular though and it is easy to see why it is one of the most photographed things in Ireland. It is partly collapsed, but this is to its photogenic advantage. It is also a lot smaller than you imagine from any photograph, just under 2m tall.
The capstone slopes beautifully, the two stones that form either wall are perfectly matched, the exposed low rear chamber is nicely proportioned, the limestone pavement is beautifully fissured, the huge metal barn 100m away is really ugly!!! Why does no one mention this?
Despite the metal fencing that has been thrown up haphazzardly to protect the visitor from the rougher bits of ground (now the state owns it they are being extra cautious about litigation) and the disgusting barn it is a truly beautiful structure and, I suppose, deserves to be so hugely photographed. As much as I hate seeing its picture on the front of every book, I have to say that, I do really love the monument itself. Get ther early and be alone here - it is worth the effort.
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_All Sites Visited On 26th October 2002 « Previous Site Next Site »
| John B from California |  |
| Marianne from Clare | |
| Uwe H. from Leinfelden-Echterdingen (Germany) | |
| D. Shannon from Tuolumne County, California | |
| Tina from Vienna | |
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Crannagh (Co. Galway) |  Tirnony (Co. Derry) |  Newmarket (Co. Kilkenny) |
 Kiltiernan Domain (Co. Dublin) |  Aghnacliff (Co. Longford) |  Ballynageeragh (Co. Waterford) |
