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Author Archives: admin
Deerpark Court Tomb
Deerpark Court Tomb is unlike most other types of court tomb in Ireland in that it has three galleries leading off from its large central court. It has a single gallery at the Western end of the court and two smaller galleries located side by side at the opposite end. Of the three galleries, only one still has a lintel over its entrance, although it has a large crack running through it. The lintels have fallen off the entrances of the other two galleries. As with the Creevykeel Court Tomb there is no remaining cairn over the galleries.
Until quite recently the tomb was surrounded by trees but these have been felled and there are now fantastic views from the tomb to Knocknarea, Lough Gill and of the surrounding countryside. A 3.5 km looping walking trail leads past the tomb and through the woodland back to the car park.
Staid Abbey
The ruins of this old church are located near Streedagh. Very little is left of the church, which may be linked to the monastic settlement on Inishmurray Island.
Captain Francisco de Cuellar was a survivor of the one of the three Spanish Armada ships that were wrecked at Streedagh in 1588. He mentions in a letter composed in Antwerp on his journey back to Spain that he reached a church close to where he had been washed ashore. He recounted that the church had been burned and that inside he saw twelve Spaniards hanging, hung he said by, “Lutheran English”. It is likely that Staid, being so close to the area of the Streedagh shipwrecks is the church de Cuellar describes. Continue reading
Favourite Places
Ronan Mulligan, member of San Fransisco based rock band The Hooks talks about some of his favourite places in Sligo. Ronan left Sligo in 2003 to bring The Hook’s brand of Rock N’ Roll to the States. He has been … Continue reading
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Labby Rock
Labby Rock situated in the townland of Carrickglass is said to get its name from the Irish word “leaba” meaning bed. This is one of Ireland’s most dramatic looking portal tombs. Its enormous capstone must be seen up close just to appreciate the sheer size of it! A walking trail that starts off at the Cromlech Lodge before going through some forestry leads the walker right up next to the tomb.
Like some other places around Sligo, Labby Rock is associated with the story of Grannie and Diarmuid. They are believed to have slept here whilst evading the pursuing Fionn MacCumhail. The tomb is also said to be the burial place of the Tuatha Dé Danann King, Nuada of the Silver Arm.
Posted in Megaliths
Tagged diarmuid and grainne, megalithic, portal tomb, sligo, walking trail
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Fossilised Coral at Streedagh Point
The large abundance of well preserved fossils at Streedagh Point give us a glimpse into the ancient past. The exposed limestone rock we see today formed the seabed which millions of years ago lay under tropical waters. The fossilised corals at Streedagh give an indication of just how much life once thrived on these rocks.
Here is a link to a short video from the BBC website showing some of the various fossils found at Streedagh Point.
Place Names
Irish place names, like place names in other countries usually derive from a description of a feature in the landscape, a man made feature or a person. However, when Irish place names were anglicised many lost their original meanings. Even today … Continue reading
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Carrowmore and the Goddess Beara
Like so many other ancient sites in Sligo, Carrowmore is associated with ancient legend. Long before the reign of Queen Maeve when the mythical gods and goddesses watched over the land there lived a Goddess named Beara.
Beara had planned to build a set of enclosures in which she could keep her animals safe. She gathered a large number of stones from around the local landscape that she would use to construct the enclosures. She then filled her apron with them for ease of carriage and set off. However while flying over the area now known as Carrowmore she dropped a number of these stones which then fell to the ground.
The stones fell into a large clearing surrounded by forest. As the stones fell to the ground they created a series a cairns which still stand today. Continue reading