Scregg Passage Tomb

All that now stands of this passage tomb at Scregg is this very small but very cute chamber. The tomb is known as " the cloghogle" and its capstone rests upon two side stones and a single back stone. The tombs chamber is about 5ft 4ins long 4ft 4ins wide and 2ft 4ins in height.

Ballynoe Stone Circle

The Ballynoe Stone Circle is one of the finest in Ireland.The site appears now as a large circle of closely-spaced stones with some outliers, surrounding an oval mound. The eastern part of the mound has a stone kerb and there is an arc of stones beyond its western end. Its outer ring consists of  a stone up to 2 metres in hight. Excavation uncovered a rectangular stone cist at each end of the mound with cremated bones.. Some experts think the remains may date from before 2000 BC which would place it in the late Neolithic period or early Bronze age.

Antrim Round Tower

The Round Tower and Bullaun Stone are impressive reminders of Antrim’s ancient monastic settlement. The tower is thought to have been built around the 10th century and it is known locally as The Steeple. It is 28 metres tall and is one of the finest of its kind in Ireland.

There is an unusual cross carved stone above the lintel and also eight simple flat headed windows. The monastic site was burned in 1147. The conical cap was reset after the tower was struck by lightening in 1819.

The large stone that can be seen to the left of the tower is known locally as "The Witch's Stone" the folklore is that of a witch who jumped from the summit of the Round Tower to express her dissatisfaction with its construction. She apparently landed on a large stone leaving in it the impression of her knee and elbow. And as a result to this day the rock is known as the "Witch's Stone".

Roscommon Castle

This Norman castle was built by Robert de Ufford, Lord Justice of Ireland, in 1269. But it passed into Irish hands seven years later when it was taken by Hugh O'Conor, King of Connacht.
The O'Kellys gained possession of the castle in 1308 when Donogh O'Kelly slaughtered many of the inhabitants. But the O'Conors took it again in 1341.
Taken by the Earl of Kildare on an expedition to Connacht in 1499, it was granted to Mac William Bourke in 1544, and taken once again in 1569, this time by Sir Henry Sidney.
Sir Nicholas Malby, Governor of Connacht, probably took it over in 1578.
The castle surrendered to the Confederates under Preston in 1645, but they in turn had to surrender it to the Cromwellians under Reynolds in 1652.
The castle is quadrangular in shape with rounded bastions at the corner, and a double-towered entrance gate, as well as a rectangular gate tower in the west wall. After 1578 Sir Nicholas Malby carried out extensive alterations and inserted a number of mullioned windows as well as adding a number of buildings on the north side of the castle.

Cahergal Stone Fort

Cahergal Fort is a restored but very impressive stone fort thought to have been built originally around 600AD.  It is located a short distance from the superb Ballycarbery castle, both of which can be found close to Cahersiveen  County Kerry.

The forts internal diameter is approximately 25 metres, the outer walls are 5 metres thick and rise to a height of 4 meters. Stairs are built into the inside face of the outer walls and climbing them makes for a great view of this site and Ballycarbery Castle in the background (second image) .

While the purists whould have you believe that this site is "too clean", for me (and great work by the OPW) this dry stone wall fort is one of the best examples of an early medieval stone fort that you can find in Ireland.

Knockeen Portal Tomb

This is quite a stunning Portal Tomb. The tomb stands to a very impressive height of three and a half metres,  There are two capstones - a feature like other portal tombs in the South of Ireland. The main one is a massive horizontal slab twelve feet long and three feet thick.  It rests on the portal stones and on the smaller capstone which covers the rectangular chamber.

Sad to report that this site is becoming very overgrown and coupled with the fact that the tomb has had a boundary wall built onto it - this all takes away from what should be a truly magical site. This should not put you off visiting this site as close by are Gaulstown and Ballynageeragh which make for a great trio of portal tombs that are a must see.

Kealkil Stone Circle

Kealkil consists of a five stone circle two giant standing stones and a badly overgrown cairn (just to the right of image 3). To be honest (and sad to report) this is yet another site claimed to be under the care of the Office of Public Works. If this is so then it would appear that this along with many other megalith sites are not just considered to be of value to those who call the shots in the OPW.
With a little care this site would be totally stunning.