Burial mound, Ballinlough, Co. Limerick
Co. Limerick |
Burial Sites
On a limestone hill in County Limerick, there is a burial mound that does not appear on any Ordnance Survey map.
That omission is not an oversight so much as an invitation: this small, unassuming feature on the summit of a hill called Rathphooroge has quietly escaped the official record while preserving, just beneath the turf, the geometry of a much older ritual landscape.
The site was described in detail by O'Kelly in 1942 to 1943, and the account rewards close reading. The tumulus, a roughly circular earthen mound of the kind raised over prehistoric burials across Ireland, sits at the highest point of the hill. It is modest in scale, measuring around 7.6 metres across at its base and rising to just 1.2 metres at its tallest point. Two stones protrude from its summit at a right angle to one another, which O'Kelly suggested may form the corner of a cist, a small stone-lined box burial chamber typical of Bronze Age interments. Most of the kerb of larger stones that once edged the mound's base has disappeared, with only two remaining visible. What makes the arrangement genuinely unusual is the structure surrounding the mound: a rectangular stone kerb measuring roughly 13 metres by 9 metres, its long axis running east to west. The mound sits at the western end of this rectangle, separated from the eastern portion by a line of stones running north to south. The relationship between the mound and the enclosing rectangle is not fully understood, but the deliberate geometry suggests a carefully organised ceremonial space rather than a simple burial marker.
The site sits on the summit of Rathphooroge, which should make it relatively straightforward to locate on the ground despite its absence from the OS map, since hilltops are their own kind of landmark. The stonework is largely buried beneath grass and soil, so what a visitor actually sees is subtle: a low swelling in the ground, two angled stones catching the light at the top, and the faint rectangular outline of the kerb at the base. Patience and a low angle of view, particularly in raking morning or evening light, will reveal more than a midday visit. The limestone geology of the hill means drainage is generally good underfoot, but the surrounding farmland context means access should be approached with the usual consideration for landowners.
