At Annagleve in County Monaghan, the remains of a court tomb sit in the landscape largely unannounced, its long mound stretching thirty metres from northwest to southeast and tapering as it goes. A fence cuts directly across the site along that same axis, and the effect is less vandalism than sheer indifference of the everyday; agriculture continuing around and through something that predates written language.

Court tombs are among the oldest megalithic monuments in Ireland, typically dating to the Neolithic period, roughly four to six thousand years ago. They are named for the open, semicircular forecourt that usually fronts the burial gallery, a roofless ceremonial space that may have been used for communal rites before or alongside the interment of the dead. At Annagleve, what survives near the northwest end of the mound includes two jambs and a side stone belonging to the gallery entrance, which opens to the north. The mound itself narrows toward the southeast, a typical feature of the trapezoidal form these structures tend to follow. A single set stone to the south of the fence may suggest the gallery continues beyond what is currently visible, though the fence makes a full reading of the monument difficult.