Leacht, An Lóthar, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Holy Sites & Wells

Leacht, An Lóthar, Co. Kerry

On the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, a small and largely forgotten structure sits at the southern end of a stone platform, positioned just above the steps that lead up into the enclosure it belongs to.

What makes it quietly odd is its composition: among the rubble of its drystone-faced sides, there is a notable quantity of quartz. That detail is easy to overlook, but quartz appears repeatedly at early Irish ceremonial and funerary monuments, seemingly chosen for its luminous, almost otherworldly quality in certain lights.

The structure is a leacht, a term used in Irish archaeology to describe a low, roughly rectangular cairn or memorial mound, typically associated with early Christian devotional practice or commemoration of the dead. They are often found within or near ecclesiastical enclosures, serving as focal points for prayer or pilgrimage. This particular example, on the slopes above An Lóthar, measures approximately four metres north to south and three metres east to west, though it is poorly preserved; only sections of its drystone facing survive at the southern and western sides. It was documented by Aidan O'Sullivan and John Sheehan in their 1996 archaeological survey of south Kerry, published by Cork University Press, which remains one of the most thorough records of the region's early monuments.

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