Cairn, Kealagowlane, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Cairns

Cairn, Kealagowlane, Co. Cork

On the south-facing rocky slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain on the Beara Peninsula, a low circular cairn sits half-swallowed by bog and rough pasture.

At roughly six and a half metres across and less than a metre high, it is easy to dismiss as a natural hummock, and in places the sod has done exactly that, burying it. Intermittent traces of a kerb, the ring of stones that once defined the cairn's outer edge, survive along the northern and south-western arc, though disturbance over the centuries has left depressions on the southern and eastern sides and a spread of displaced stones fanning out to the north-west.

What makes this particular terrace of bogland quietly arresting is not the cairn alone but the density of prehistoric activity concentrated within a very small area around it. Within roughly ninety metres to the west lie two burnt mounds and a fulacht fia, a fulacht fia being a type of prehistoric cooking or heating site, typically identified by a horseshoe-shaped mound of fire-cracked stone and charcoal accumulated beside a water trough. Fifty metres to the south, the landscape opens onto a multiple-stone circle and a boulder burial, the latter a form of Bronze Age monument in which a large capstone is supported by smaller stones or set directly into the ground over a burial deposit. The clustering of these monument types, cairn, stone circle, boulder burial, and fulacht fia, within such close proximity suggests this was a place that accumulated meaning and use across generations rather than a single episode of activity.

The Beara Way walking route passes about a hundred metres to the south of the cairn, which places the site within reasonable reach of anyone already on that trail. The cairn itself sits on a bog-covered terrace above the path, so the going underfoot is soft and uneven, and the monument's low profile means it rewards attention rather than announcing itself.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Cairn, Kealagowlane, Co. Cork. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement