This dolmen is a most surprising site. As you come around an island on the Ballybrack Road there it is, sitting in the center of a green, surrounded by council houses. A nearby bus stop was occupied by a teenage girl when I visited and she looked at me like I was from Mars or something. The tomb itself is very small, measuring just 5 ft high, but is still quite cute.
Sadly, the capstone has been vandalised with a red spray can, which although fading is still vivid enough to drawn attention.
There is a single, deep cup mark in the capstone that is about 4cm across.
I revisited this stone with a German friend, Gabi, purely because of its incredible location that provides a stark contrast to nearby Ballyedmonduff (County Dublin), which we also visited.
Stop number two on today's little tour. I tried to recreate the photograph of this tomb that appears in Antiquities Of Old Rathdown (see reviews) but failed totally. It must have been taken with a very wide angle lens.
All Sites Visited On 11th April 2002 « Previous Site Next Site »
Well, as I always say - This place is incredible. Scott ascribed an almost comedic value to its location. I think I have to agree somewhat. Still, it's such a contrast to what people expect that it is always worth stopping off at.
All Sites Visited On 1st May 2002 « Previous Site Next Site »
The red paint has disappeared from the capstone now, but some white paint has appeared on one of the portal stones.
I also noticed something rather nice about the southern portal stone - it has a thin layer of quartz covering its outer face.
I suppose with its urban setting it's hardly surprising that this stone should get vandalised at some point. Inevitable as it may be it was still shocking to see the capstone daubed with white paint.
Follow the N11 from Dublin and take the Shankhill turn off. Carry on until you reach a T junction and turn left. Follow this road and you will see the dolmen in a clearing on the left after about 1 mile.
This site used to be known as The Greyhound's Bed.
A friend of my daughters told me that when they were kids and used to play around this dolmen their grandparents used to tell them that if they ran around it 10 times and then through it 10 times and looked up at the large tree opposite they would see ghosts in the tree.
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
Carncorran Glebe (Co. Tyrone) | Mihanboy (Co. Roscommon) | Crevolea (Co. Derry) |
Altdrumman (Co. Tyrone) | Kilclooney More (Co. Donegal) | Cloghroe (Co. Donegal) |