Loughcrew Megalithic Cairns

Oldcastle - Virginia Road (R163), Oldcastle Co. Meath
Visitor's rating: 9 vote(s)
More attractions in Co. Meath.

Loughcrew, also known as Sliabh na Caillighe, meaning Mountain of the Hag, is safely tucked away in a remote corner of County Meath. The hill stands out of its surroundings by the three peaks, known as Cairnbane West, Cairnbane East and Patrickstown. Scattered over these peaks and the slopes of Loughcrew are 30 megalithic cairns in various states of decay. It is believed that the site once contained 50 to 100 cairns. Beside the cairns there are several other megalithic monuments, such as standing stones and a stone circle.
Although the Loughcrew Megalithic Cairns are not as famous and well maintained as Newgrange and not as extended as Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery the site is worthwhile for the interested visitor.

Loughcrew Megalithic Cemetery
(authors collection)

In the 1860's the megalithic cairns were rediscovered and excavated by Comwell. Unfortunately Mr Comwell was a scholar without imagination and he decided to refer to the cairns as Cairn A until Cairn Z. Probably he was not well educated because some names referred to more than one cairn, forcing his successors to introduce names like Cairn X-1.
The site is steeped in an mystical, almost spiritual atmosphere, caused by the remnants of the dilapidated cairns and, weather permitted, excellent views over the surrounding countryside. The most notable cairns for the superficial interested visitor are Cairn T, the only complete cairns on Cairnbane East, and Cairn U, situated just north of Cairn T on the same peak.

The site is still a mystery despite the artefacts found during these excavations and the studies that followed.
Like other megalithic monuments there is a serious dating problem. The construction date is estimated somewhere between 4000 BCE and 3000 BCE. According to some scholars the passage tombs at Loughcrew were built before Newgrange, which is most likely built around 3200 BCE.
The second mystery is also quit common and concerns the purpose of the structures. The few human remains found on the site belie the general idea that the cairns were actually used for burials.

With all those uncertainties guesswork and fantasies lurks to take over the rational mind.
The most farfetched and historically implausible we have stumbled upon claims that the above mentioned Cairn T is the burial site of Ollamh Fodhla. Ollamh Fodhla is known as a historical Tuath, or King, and influential breitheamh, meaning judge or arbitrator. It is commonly accepted that Fodhla introduced the triennial conference at the Hill of Tara, the Feis Teamhrach, or Great Fair, to discuss the loopholes in the Brehon Law. It is unlikely that Ollamh Fodhla, who lived around 1300 BCE, is buried in a tomb which has been built two millennia before.

Loughcrew Megalithic Cemetery
(courtesy of Ans Beernink)

A second theory is an example of thinking out of the box. One of the features of Cairn T are some carved slabs. Some elements on these slabs are similar to those found in Newgrange, Howth and other passage tombs and are usually interpreted as celestial bodies and such. In combination with the real or suggested alignment of the tombs with equinoxes and solstices almost everybody assume that the slabs are calendar-type instruments. The deviser of this highly creative theory however approached the slabs in Cairn T as if it was a comic book and concluded that the inscriptions were telling the story of the biblical Jeremiah and his journey from Palestine to Ireland. Consequently, according to the deviser (his name is veiled in mist, but you this link will take you to his website) the tomb must be Jeremiah's.
Jeremiah is not a stranger for hibernianphiles as he is also linked with the Stone of Destiny and the Red Hand of O'Neill. In fact some consider Jeremiah as the forefather of the powerful O'Neill clan which reigned over Ulster for centuries. However, it is again a nagging dating issue that queers the pitch for this theory.
In the Mythological Cycle the Stone of Destiny was unknown prior to the arrival of the Tuatha de Danaan, because it was one of the Four Treasures of Ireland brought to the island by the Tuatha de Danaan. The mythological Tuatha de Danaan are loosely linked to the historical Euerni tribe. The Euerni tribe brought the art of iron forging to Ireland and the arrived in Ireland around 600 BCE and were the first Celtic tribe to settle in Ireland.
The Red Hand of O'Neill on the other hand is associated with the mythological Milesians which are connected to historical Gaels. The Gaels are considered to be the last of the Celtic tribes to arrive in Ireland in the second and first century before common era.
Burying an important and respected Tuath in a two millennia old tomb is unlikely, but burying Jeremiah in a three millennia old tomb which already has inscribed slabs depicting his journey is simply impossible, all the more because the slabs are probably even older then the tombs that contains them.

The last prevailing theory we discuss clench to the calendar idea. The foundations of this theory are simple, yet effective. At dawn of the spring equinox a sunbeam illuminates a symbol, which might represent a flower or sun, in the top-left corner of the end stone in Cairn T. With the rising of the sun the beam of light slides and hits a second sun-like symbol spot on. Martin Brennan and Jack Roberts, who discovered this phenomenon in 1980, immediately identified the slab as a calendar.
Sounds reasonable, but what about the other sun-like symbols on the slab? Considering their position on the lower part of the slab it seems improbable that the sun is able to illuminate them.

After all these riddles you might want to sit down for a minute. Reflect on everything you have seen and experienced while sitting on a seat-shaped stone on the west side of Cairn T. Perhaps you feel royal if you realise that the stone you are sitting on is known as Ollamh Fodhla's Seat, or perhaps you feel uncomfortable if we tell you that the stone is also known as The Hag's Chair.

Loughcrew is open all year around. Cairn T however is locked. If you want to see the inscribed slabs in Cairn T you might have to pick up a key, which normally can be obtained at the Loughcrew Historical Gardens, situated between Oldcastle and Loughcrew, but a brief visit to the Oldcastle's tourist office will prevent disappointments.

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