Annadorn Dolmen

The romantic in me would prefer to call Annadorn a portal tomb.
This is said as the evidence of what the site was would seem to make a better case for Annadorn originally being a passage tomb. There is a written account of a visit in 1802 that states that the site of Annadorn formerly sat beneath a large rectangular cairn over 18 meters in diameter and was approached by a lintelled passage.

What you can see today is a large impressive cap that sits on a rectangular chamber of many small stones with three large side stones that can clearly seen (even when the grass is overgrown).

Annadorn (which is signposted) is located a short drive from the A2 road.
Although the sites enclosure is on a bad bend on the road, parking can be found quite close leaving you a with a small climb up the steps to the site.

Inch Abbey County Down

The vast ruins of  Inch Abbey can be found on the north bank of the Quoile River.
The Abbey was founded by John de Courcy in atonement for his destruction of Erenagah Abbey.

The abbey was colonized by monks from Furness Abbey, England in 1187.
What remains of the abbey shows a typical Cistercian layout with the shape of a large cruciform architectural plan.
The Abbey is built on the site of an earlier pre-Norman church called Inis Cumhscraigh.
Vikings plundered the site in 1002 and again in 1149.
Some of the original large earthworks which survive  can be seen today from the air.

What remains of the abbey today are buildings that are dated mainly from the late 12th Century and the 13th Century.

Other well known sites that are linked with John de Courcy include the castles of Carrickfergus and Dundrum  along with Grey Abbey.

Access - The abbey is well signposted from Downpatrick.
Parking is available for several cars close to the abbey.
Expect to make a furry friend or two while at the site as the grounds around the abbey are very popular with dog walkers.

Greengraves Portal Tomb aka The Kempe Stones

This was my second attempt to visit the superb Greengraves Portal Tomb
(also known as) The Kempe Stones.
The first attempt failed due to roadworks on the A20 close to the tomb.

My excitement at finding the site was somewhat overshadowed with finding the tomb close to being overgrown on one side with very tall nettles and other weeds.
The overgrown side would seem to be part of a lane/walk way that brings you to the tomb.
This is very much not in keeping with how you normally find Heritage sites in Northern Ireland. 

The tomb's impressive main capstone rests on two large portal stones, a smaller capstone sits at the back.
Everything about this tomb is just perfectly proportioned.
This is a site with real presence.  
The tomb rises to over 3 meters.
On the ground is evidence of what was once a cairn (a few loose boulders).

The chamber of the tomb was excavated in 1830, human bones were found.

Access - I came at the tomb from the A20, drove very slowly down Greengraves Road and spotted the tomb on my right at the end of a field.

What I did not spot was the bull in next field who had access to an opening into the tombs field.
This brought about the lead shot as yours truly took to the higher ground to avoid said bull.  

Devenish Island Monastic Settlement (damhinis island of oxen)

   
Located in the southern part of lough Erne is the stunning Devenish Island Monastic Settlement.

To say Devinish had been on my wish list for a long time would be a huge understatement.
Once I saw images of a complete round tower and the remains of another Devenish went to the top of my wish list.

So at the end of last summer and the start of a family holiday in Donegal (with a slight detour ) we found ourselves standing at the pier for the island. £10 for the Mulraney gang (outstanding value) and we were on our way.

The first thing that strikes you is how large the settlement is ( roughly 70 acres ) and apart from the round tower this site really has so much more to offer.

The Devenish Island monastic community was founded in the 6th century by Saint Molaise

Read more at: http://www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

//www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

roughly 70 acres

Read more at: http://www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

roughly 70 acres

Read more at: http://www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

Devenish was founded in the sixth century by Saint Molaise.
The Annals of Ulster record that in 836, “all the churches of Loch Erne, together with Cluain Eois and Daimhinis (Devenish Island) were destroyed by the gentiles (Vikings).” The monastery was rebuilt after these invasions.

The island was attacked again by the Vikings in 1157 and again in 1360.
The round tower is dated between these two attacks.
The five stories high round tower is an impressive 25 meters and can be climbed to the very top.
Located beside the tower is the base of a second round tower, information on this second tower is hard to come by. 

The site also has a 13th Century high cross that has some beautiful elaborate carvings.
Apart from the tower and high cross the site has a 15th Century Augustinian Priory of St Mary (second image).
The bottom image is of Teampull Mor, The Great Church which dates from the 13th Century.

Access - The Island is well signposted from Enniskillen, further information can be found Here. 

Tory Island Round Tower & The Tau Cross

The wonderful Tory Island is home to this round tower which along with the cross is all that remains of the once nearby St Colmcille's monastery.
The monastery and tower are both thought to date back to between the 6th and 7th Century.
The tower is just under 13 meters in height and is made of granite.
The top of the tower suffered extensive damage from a lightning bolt which struck the tower in the late 18th century.

The Tau Cross is made from one piece of mica slate, 1.9m high and 1.1m wide.
The cross stands beside the pier and dates from the 6th century (or some think maybe even earlier).
The cross is one of only four that is known to be in Ireland, the others can be found at Killegar church Co Wicklow, St Begnet's Church Co Dublin and St Catherines Church heritage centre Co Clare.
This cross at Tory is still of great importance to the people of the Island, many fishermen pray at it before setting off to sea.

Access - The ferry sails to the island a couple of times each day, the crossing takes about 35 minutes.
For all the sites I was lucky enough to visit in 2013 Tory Island was the total highlight of these, so what are you waiting for !!!  

   






    

Bocan Stone Circle

When first spotted from the road my expectations for this circle left me in a rush to get up closer for a better look. 
Sad to report this circle now has only 7 stones left standing and is pretty much a mess (see bottom image) !!.

Originally the 20 meter wide circle was thought to have 30 stones, in 1816 there were 12 stones still standing so recent times have really not been kind to this site.

Of what remains the tallest of the stones is around the 2 meter mark in height (from the 4 on the east side of the circle) the remaining 3 stones (on the west side) are smaller and are close to 1.5 meters in height.

Bocan stone circle will leave you disappointed due to the state of the site, but I would still recommend a visit for superb views.  It would not take much imagination to visualize what a stunning site this once was.

Access:-   You can see the main stones of the circle from the R238, parking will be anywhere you can find just off the main road.
From there you can reach the circle by climbing up  to the top of a field, when you get to the top you can see the circle very well.
To get closer to the circle you will need to scale a new barbed wire fence.     
  

Big thanks to Patrick McCann with putting this weeks images together (they were a bit like the circle). 

Grianán of Aileach

Grianan of Aileach has got to be in the top five for locations of historic sites in Ireland.
The views from all round are nothing short of stunning, Lough Foyle, Lough Swilly and miles upon miles of superb landscapes of the Inishowen Peninsula.

The cashel is over 23 meters in diameter, with the walls near 4 meters in width and reaching up to 5 meters in height.
The walls have 3 interior walkways and can be reached by several stairways.

The history of the site of Grianán of Aileach is thought to date back to 1700 BC.
It is linked to the legend of Tuatha de Danann, who invaded Ireland before the Celts.
The original cashel is thought to have been built between the 5th - 10th Century's.

The Grianán of Aileach has undergone many transformations in its history.
Dismantled by the warriors of Murtogh O Brien - who ordered his men to take away the remains stone by stone.
Later came the (much maligned) 1837 reconstruction work of Dr. Bernard.
More recently there was a controversial stabilization scheme (which was even more maligned) undertaken by the OPW in 2007.

Grianán of Aileach may have many critics as it is very different to the well known Cahergal Stone Fort . 
But for all the restoration work carried out this is still a quite stunning site that I would strongly recommend.

Access: The site is very well signposted from the N13 (and can be seen well in advance) parking is not a problem.                  

Burt Castle

Burt Castle stands proud on a hill called castlehill overlooking Lough Swilly.
The castle is thought to have been built  in the the 16th Century, during the reign of Henry VIII.  
Coinage which dates from Henry VIII's era & with the armorial bearings of The O'Doherty's has been found close by. 

The three storied castle is built from rough rubble and all of the inner floors have fallen in. 
The quadrangular structure has circular towers at its alternate angles, with the walls said to be 1.5 meters thick at the base.
The towers can be climbed with some care and give you an idea as to why Burt still stands strong.

Access:-
The ruin is on private land.
I came off the N13 - the main Derry Letterkenny  road, (castle can be seen from this road).
I managed to come at the castle from the side, so a stiff climb, a ditch, some nettles and a barbed wire fence accounted for the first field  with the second field similar but without the stiff climb.   










  

Gortnavern Portal Tomb

Gortnavern is a stunner of a tomb and although the capstone has slipped back it is being kept in place by one of the side stone's that has fallen in.
The long thin capstone is over 3 and a half meters long and the two portal stones are 2 meters in height.
This tomb gives you many different shapes when viewed from all sides, and all of them are very striking.

Gortnavern's real problem (apart from access) is the gorse growing all around the tomb, to give you an idea how bad this is - if you look at the small image I was stood in the open patch just below the tomb " but I could not see any part of the tomb ".

Access"
This is where your going to have some fun !

This tomb can be tackled in a couple of ways, and both of them are far from easy !!
The way I found this tomb I could only recommend if you are willing to battle it out.

I saw no sign's for this tomb so I got lucky when the tomb was spotted from the car driving up the road.
I came at the site from the East which involved crossing a strong stream and then battling my way through some gorse to finally arrive at the tomb.
Leaving the site I could not find the part of the stream that I crossed at, so I walked alongside the stream back down towards a farmhouse where I met the farmer who very kindly drove me back up to my car.