Neolithic Tour of Ireland Ancient Sites and Scenic Views

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1
  Hill of Tara

  The Hill of Tara has been important since the late Stone Age, when a passage tomb was built there. However, the site became truly significant in the Iron Age (600 BC to 400 AD) and into the Early Christian Period when it rose to supreme prominence – as the seat of the high kings of Ireland. All old Irish roads lead to this critical site. St Patrick himself went there in the fifth century. As Christianity achieved dominance over the following centuries, Tara’s importance became symbolic. Its halls and palaces have now disappeared and only earthworks remain. There are still remarkable sights to be seen, however. Just one example is the Lia Fáil – the great coronation stone and one of the four legendary treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann – which stands proudly on the monument known as An Forradh.

  1 hour • Admission ticket free
• 2

  Goward Dolmen, also known as the Goward Chambered Tomb or Pat Kearney's Big Stone, is a prehistoric burial site dating back to approximately 2500–2000 BC, located in the townland of Goward, near Hilltown and Castlewellan in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a fine example of a portal tomb, reflecting the burial practices and spiritual life of Neolithic communities in Ireland.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 3

  Clontygora Court tomb is beautifully situated on a hillside in South Armagh, it is Y shaped with a large burial gallery at the centre. Some of the stones that line the forecourt look quite spectacular, the highest reaching about two and a half metres. The tomb was excavated in 1937 and evidence of cremations were found amongst other neolithic artifacts.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 4

  This Neolithic burial site, dated between 4000 and 2500 BC, has a huge capstone, supported on upright stones, over an octagonal burial chamber. It is known as the 'Hag's Chair'. It stands dramatically at the southern end of a long stone cairn. Most of the cairn has gone, but two parallel lines of carefully-set stones defining the edges are still visible. Excavation in 1963 revealed that a stone-lined grave or cist had been inserted into the northern end of the cairn

  20 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 5

  A tall granite pillar marks the site of an early cemetery on one of Early Christian Ireland’s great ‘main roads’, the Slige Midlúachra, running from Drogheda north through the Moyry Pass to Dunseverick in north Antrim. The long Irish inscription on the pillar’s south-east face records the dedication of the place by Ternohc son of Ceran Bic under the patronage of Peter the Apostle. Ternohc’s death is recorded in the annals at 714 or 716 and the pillar can be dated to about 700. There are also three crosses on the south-east face and 10 on the north-west. Excavation in 1966 and 1968 uncovered an Early Christian cemetery with both stone-built and dug graves near the pillar, orientated east-west (not radially, as earlier claimed). Several small cross-carved slabs around the pillar may have served as grave-markers. The site was unenclosed in the mid 19th century; the present enclosure dates from early in the 20th century. A fine bullaun stone can be seen in the field to the west.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 6

  Ballymacdermot Court Tomb, lying on the southern slopes of Ballymacdermot Mountain close to Newry City, is an extremely well preserved Neolithic burial site with three chambers. It can be dated between 4,000 and 2,500 BC. Situated within the Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the site offers excellent views of Slieve Gullion and the smaller hills of the ring dyke as well as the Mourne and Cooley mountain ranges.

  20 minutes • Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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