Horse Island just off Raghly Point at sunset.
This well is located not far from the Western
Edge of Lough Gara and very close to
Clogher Stone Fort.
The well is named after St Attracta who was reputedly baptised by St Patrick. A bullaun stone is located inside the well and water taken from this stone is said to provide a cure for warts. There are also a number of round shaped praying stones, which are sometimes known as “cursing stones” placed on top of the rear wall of the well.
I heard Tomb 7 in Carrowmore described a while ago as one of the “poster boys” of Carrowmore. It is one of the more intact tombs in the Carrowmore cemetery and possibly the most photographed. Tomb 7 is usually photographed with Knocknarea and Maeve’s Cairn in the background.
I wondered how the tomb would appear if viewed from Knocknarea, so the last time I was up on the summit of the mountain I pointed my camera in the direction of Carrowmore and tried to take a few pictures, luckily it was a clear day so Carrowmore was visible in the distance.
Although the picture below is not of high quality it is just possible to make out the round stone circle surrounding Tomb 7 in the center of the image.
The picture below is zoomed in further on Tomb 7 from the same angle, again it is not of a high standard due to the restrictions of the digital camera zoom used but the round stone circle and tomb are easily identifiable.
Carrowntemple burial ground is located just south of Gurteen. The cemetery which is still in use today stands on the site of an early monastic enclosure.
Fourteen carved stone slabs thought to date from around 800 to 1000 A.D. were found on the site, some with intricate hand cut designs. The original slabs were removed from site for preservation in 1992 and replaced with replicas that stand in the graveyard today.
The Dartry Mountain Range in January 2010 viewed from Streedagh. Benbulben is visible on the right hand side of the image while Benwiskin and Tievebaun mountain are visible on the left hand side. On the extreme left Arroo mountain in County Leitrim is visible.
Sometimes pictures don’t convey the true size or scale of their subjects. Heapstown Cairn and Maeve’s Cairn are examples of this. It is hard to gauge the size of the cairns from photographs because there are no other familiar buildings or structures nearby to compare them to. It is not until a person visits these sites before they can appreciate their actual size.
However if a person cannot visit the sites video is a means by which the scale of these monuments can be conveyed. I was on YouTube recently and came across a clip that made up a series of videos about ancient monuments in Ireland and Britain. One of the clips features Maeve’s Cairn on Knocknarea.
The clip can be found here. About twenty five seconds into the clip, the host is shown walking up Maeve’s cairn. To me the actual cairn seems even bigger in the video than it does in real life although this was probably just the angle the camera shot the scene from. Even so, for anyone that has only seen pictures of Knocknarea and Meave’s Cairn the clip makes interesting viewing as it gives a good indication of just how large this megalithic cairn actually is.
Tomb No. 7 is one of the best examples of a complete burial chamber and stone circle in the Carrowmore cemetery.
The tomb was excavated in 1977-1978 by a Swedish team of archaeologists. The original construction of the tomb has been dated to over 6,000 years ago. The team found cremated human bone inside the burial chamber. They also found fragments of antler pins, a stone ball and a flint arrowhead.
On a clear day there are fantastic views towards Knocknarea in the Western part of the Cúil Irra peninsula from here.
Clogher stone fort or Cashelmore is a well preserved cashel located near the village of Monasteraden.
The large round interior of the fort contains excellent examples of typical souterrains. Souterrains are a common feature of Irish ringforts and cashels but few remain in such a good state of repair as these. There are also a number of stone stairways built into the inner wall of the fort.
Possibly the most impressively sited megalithic cairn in all of Ireland, Miosgán Meadhbha or Maeve’s Cairn sits on the summit of Knocknarea. The huge monumnet is visible from much of North Sligo. The cairn has never been excavated but according to legend Queen Maeve of Connaught is buried within it in an upright position.
There are a few other megalithic structures on Knocknarea located close to Meave’s Carin but they are much smaller and are now lie in a very ruined state.
There is a car park near the base of the mountain where a sign suggests a 45 minute walk to the top. Traditionally visitors to the cairn carried a stone up the mountain to place on the cairn for good luck.
