Cloch An Phoill (Aghade) The Holed Stone

The Cloch An Phoill is a large flat granite stone.
This huge stone has a hole that has been pierced through it.
The stone is believed to have been a part of a megalithic tomb, with the hole used to pass food to the dead (after the sealing of the tomb).
The hole is about 30cm's in diameter.

The more recent history of the stone claims that Niall of the nine hostages tied up an enemy called Eochu with the use of a chain that was run through the hole.
The manacled Eochu managed to get free and exact revenge on Niall by taking his life in 405 AD.

The stone was also used for it's healing powers in the 18th Century, sick infants were passed through the hole in belief that this would aid the restoring of the infants health.

This is a very impressive stone which would be even more striking if it were upright in a field like Hurlstone Standing Stone Co Louth .

Access - The site is just a short drive from Tullow town (N81).
The stone which is well signposted can be found on your left in a field on a very bad bend so take care.  

Ballynoe Portal Tomb

Continuing with my good run of late with tombs, after trying on and off for about the last 5 years I finally got to see the wonderful Ballynoe Portal Tomb.

The tomb is only held up with one stone.  Some of the other stones that have fallen are lying under and around  the tomb.

One of the things that really makes this site so special is the large capstone with the ridges and grooves which are said to have been caused by weathering.

The capstone is over 3 meters in length and 3 meters in width.
The height of the tomb is just under 2 meters.

The setting for Ballynoe could not be better, green fields all around with the Derreen river running close to the tomb.  

Access -

This is the real problem with Ballynoe!  A couple of years ago I tried to visit the tomb via the farm it was on. This proved to be spectacularly unsuccessful with yours truly being turned away by the farmer, who by the time I was leaving had me convinced my directions were all wrong.

Since then I have tried to approach the farmer through a couple of locals (with no luck) and more recently with a local historical society (again no luck).
So in the meantime I pushed Ballynoe further back in my wish list, that is until having some recent success with a couple of other local tombs I decided to try again and started investigating alternative options to get to this site.

My new route involved approaching the tomb from the opposite side of the farm, this route was found via Google Earth with the help of Google Street View confirming the new starting point.
This route brings you to the tomb via an old track way, with a walk that will take you about 15 minutes or so, taking this walk you cant help notice a giant of a standing stone on your left as you walk towards the tomb.
As time was against me and the standing stone was in a cropped field I gave it a nod and said "another day to myself".

Please feel free to get in contact if you need more information about the route I took for Ballynoe.

                                                                                                                                 TM.   
       

Ballygraney Portal Tomb

The real star of the show here at Ballygraney Portal Tomb (apart from the photo bombing horse) is the giant capstone that sits on this tomb.
The capstone is close to 4 meters in length and  just over 3 meters in width.
This massive stone viewed from the back looks like a huge turtle shell (ninja like).

The portal stones are just over 1 meter in height. The door slab stone  is close to 2.5m in width and over 1 meter in height.

From the back of the tomb at the side it is possible to climb down into the tomb.
From the the inside you can see the side stones of the tomb which has three on each side.
Sorry to report but I could not get any images of the inside of the tomb as it was very overgrown (and was being used to store animal feed bags).

Finding this great tomb has been the highlight of my few visits in 2014 (so far), this was thanks to the great Megalithic Monuments Of Ireland   web site where I first came across this superb tomb.

Access - Is going to be your main problem I called to the farm whose land the tomb is on and I was being refused point blank permission to go and look at the tomb.
On the point of leaving I happened to ask a question which resulted in the owner and myself having a mutual acquaintance in common (this got me the go ahead to visit the tomb).   










  

Kilgraney Portal Tomb

This tomb had been on my wish list for some time.
Knowing that the tomb had collapsed did not lessen my intent to see this site up close.

The setting for Kilgraney could not be better, tucked away in the corner of a field with the soundtrack of running water only a few meters away.

The capstone is just under 5 meters in length and is over 2.5 meters in width.
This huge stone now rests on only one stone, with all the others fallen.

I was lucky enough to meet the farmer whose land the tomb is on, he was very helpful in giving exact directions to the site and came across as being very proud to have this fallen giant on his land.

Access - heading south on the R702 the turn for the tomb is on your left just after a very bad bend, follow this road until you are running parallel with the main road.
The field the tomb is in is marked very clearly it has a photo of the site stuck onto the frame of the gate. 








 
  

Ballyloughan Castle

This vast ruins of Ballylouhan Castle can be found just a short drive from the R724 off the main Bagenalstown  Fenagh road.
Like the nearby Ballymoon Castle very little is known about the history of Ballyloughan.
What is known or thought is that it was probably built in the 13th century.
The owners were probably the Kavanagh family who were prominent in Carlow at that time.
The fully enclosed site would have had four towers and it is though that the castle was originally surrounded by a moat.
The stand out feature of this site is the gatehouse. (From the inside you can climb to an upper level.)
Access; the castle is on private land but is well signposted from the surrounding area.
The road/lane which brings you up to the castle is quite narrow so park as close as you can to the entrance.   
   

Ballymoon Castle

Ballymoon Castle is a castle without history.
What is known, based on its design, it was probably built between 1290 and 1310. 
It is thought that the builders were the Carew family who were very active in the area at that time.
The castle is 24 meters by 24 meters, with the granite walls rising to an impressive 6 meters with the thickness being close to 2.5 meters.
The outer walls were once believed to have walk ways, but nothing remains of them today.
Three square towers project from sides while the fourth has a gatehouse as its feature.
The interior of the courtyard is now bare, but markings of fireplaces along with gun loops and arrow slits all remain.
Their is considerable weight given to the thought that the castle may never have been finished.
All I can say is that on a fine day you will not wish yourself anywhere else.
This site is quite simply superb and along with other castles close by, you truly will lose yourself in the past.  
The site is well signposted and can be found just off the R724 about 3.5 kilometres from Bagnelstown.

Brownshill Portal Tomb

Located just beside the R726 Carlow to Hacketstown road stands this giant of a portal tomb ( in a fenced off enclosure).
The capstone (estimated to weigh between 100 and 150 tons) sits on two large portal stones along with a door stone.  A fourth stone stands close by.
The date of construction has been estimated between 4,900 and 5,500 years ago.
This site has never been excavated.
For me this site me is all about the monster granite capstone - the biggest in Ireland and probably Europe.  

Duckett’s Grove Castle

Originally a Georgian home of noted Anglo Irish family, this castle was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style. Although burnt in 1933 the remaining towers and turrets, make this location a surreal view pretty unlike most other castles in Ireland.  Built in 1830 by William Duckett in an estate covering more than 5,000 acres. During the Troubles, The castle was occupied by soldiers from the Irish Republican Army and many Nationalist leaders sought refuge here. The site itself is situated in the townland of Rainstown, between Carlow and Tullow but the estate comprised several large townlands and parts of others. Duckett’s Grove Castle was destroyed by fire in April 1933 but the cause of the fire has not been determined.