THE CORRAN HERALD A Ballymote Heritage Group Production. Issue No. 20 Summer 1991 Price £1.00 'Survey of the Where's That? The indication of a long vowel on the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland: first part of Keash Hill, a famed hill of Co. Sligo, directed those attempting to Vol. V. County Sligo' find its original Irish towards céis rather the ceis , this latter being (1) a small DR SEÁN O NUALLÁIN harp or (2) a young sow. This second meaning ties it in with 'a very singular A review article by Martin A. Timoney legend', found in the Dinnshenchus, where it is related that Ceis was the name of a lady,who, with five others, Recently the Ordnance Survey of and wedge tombs; there are also were, by a charm compounded with the Ireland published 'Survey of the several tombs which do not fall into nut-fruit, metamorphosed into pigs, the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland: Vol. V. any of these classes. unhappy Ceis herself being subsequent- County Sligo'. It costs £40 and is In Part 3 of this volume there are ly slain. Ceis Chorainn, in the Sligo available from the Government lists of the 1,448 tombs known up to barony of Corran, now anglicised as Publications Office, Hurley in Bally- the end of 1988. This is the first list Keshcorran, is the site of the Fenian Tale mote or Keohanes in Sligo. The of Irish megalithic tombs, north and of Bruidean Cheise Corrann, the author is Dr. Seán Ó Nualláin, south, made this century. Distribu- enchanted fort of Keshcorran'. Some Archaeological Officer with the tion maps, as of 1988, of each type antiquarians saw a similarity with the Ordnance Survey. He was made an are given as well as location details Honorary Life Member of Sligo and the more important references. lengthening sizes of 'caves' here, with Field Club in recognition of this This in itself makes the volume the increasing length of harp strings; work. worth having. thereby ceis (1). A very important battle This volume is certainly no bed- The bulk of the volume, Part 1, is called the Battle of Ceis Chorainn was time reading; it measures 13 by 9 by devoted to descriptions, plans and fought at the foot of the Hill of Keash in 2 inches and is 6lbs. in weight! This photographs of 128 megalithic 971, between the men of Ulster and large format allows for large size tombs of Co. Sligo. As in previous those of Connaught, the dead including plans at a scale of one hundreth, volumes, details of the passage Searrach 0 Flaherty, king of Kenelown excellent maps and quality repro- tombs are omitted; that inventory (Cineal Eoghain), Donough, son of Don- duction of four photographs to a will be published as a separate vol- nell Roydamna; Teighe, son of Mortagh, page. There are orientation dia- ume. In Part 2 there is a discussion and Cathal, son of Teige, King of Con- grams for the court, portal and of the Sligo tombs in the local and naught. From an inquisition held at Bal- wedge tombs. The volume is fully national setting and the first list this lymote 22nd May 1611, before Nicholas cross-indexed. The introduction century of all megalithic tombs in Brady, we learn of a denomination of details the history of megalithic the 32 counties. Eleven (6%) of the land, then called Tryne of Cloncagh, the studies in Co. Sligo which began 174 Irish portal tombs are in Co. trian (a third, a good portion, a 'quarter' with Edward Lhuyd in 1699 and Sligo, with excellent ones being at of area) of Chain Catha, 'the meadow of continues today with the work of Tawnatruffan, near Dromore West, the battle' or more simply 'battlefield'. Bergh and others. and Carrickglass, near Highwood. This lay between Toomour and the crest Megalithic tombs are tombs built The Carrickglass portal tomb con- of Bricklieve, and there is a strong belief of big rocks. Archaeologists classify sists of a burial chamber formed by that this was the site of the battle. This them into four main types, portal tombs, court tombs, passage tombs Continued Page 2 Continued Page 4 "ieMid Review Article From Page 1 adoo, south of Coolaney, where one the 'Sligo is Surprising' campaign is of the two groups of large stones not based on any Sligo megalith but two side stones and a backstone. clearly form a chamber. What sur- on one of the glories of Co. Clare, There is a blocking stone between vives is insufficient to tell us what the Poulnabrone portal tomb. Why the two massive entrance stones. type of tomb it was. Tawnatruffaun or Carrickglass por- This monument is capped by a sin- Furthermore they reject twenty tal tombs or Carrowmore No. 7 pas- gle huge capstone, reputed to weigh nine previously suggested Sligo sage tomb or the distinctive profile seventy tons, measuring 4.4 metres tombs; rejection does not mean that of Knocknarea crowned by the by 3.4 metres by 1.6 metres. (1 they are not monuments, only that great cairn called 'Miosgán Mave' metres = 3ft. 3ins.) It looks as if the they are not megalithic tombs. were not used is beyond logical rea- capstone has driven the chamber At least sixty seven (29%) of the soning! Both Tawnatruffaun and stones down into the ground. One 229 Irish passage tombs are in Co. Carrickglass are extremely photo- can only marvel at the sheer size of Sligo, with major cemeteries at Car- genic; likewise Carrowmore no. 7 this capstone and how it was got up rowkeel, near Castlebaldwin, and which is part of the largest complex into position. Carrowmore and Knocknarea, near of megalithic tombs in these Fifty-nine (15%) of the 391 Irish Sligo. Details and plans of these will islands; Knocknarea, now sadly court tombs are in Co. Sligo, with be presented in a later volume. being defaced by American side- excellent ones being at Creevykeel, Besides being listed, these sites are walk style graffiti, is already known near Cliffoney, and Deerpark, near not further considered in the book because of Yeats' poetry. Perhaps Calry. THe Sessuecommon court nor in this review article. someone will present a copy of The tomb, east of Aclare, is in a mound Since this volume went to press Megalithic Survey to the "Sligo is seventeen metres by eight metres. two more Sligo tombs, one at Surprising" people. There is a round court with a burial Skreen and one at Aghannagh, near The detailed modern survey of chamber at its west end. One stone Ballinafad, were discovered by Tom these tombs has been going on for at the east end may indicate the Condit of the Sites and Monuments several decades now under Prof. original entrance to the court, thus Record Office using high powered Ruaidhri de Valera and Dr. Sean ó giving the monument an eastern magnification of the vertical aerial Nualláin. Five volumes, covering orientation. Court tombs normally photographs. There may be others sixteen counties and the greater face into the rising sun. The that have not come to archaelogical portion of the country, have been Creeveykeel court tomb was exca- notice as yet. published. Two further volumes, vated in 1935 and was subsequently Two real oddities, the monu- Donegal and east Leinster and east restored to the extent that today it is ments at Achonry and Knocka- Munster, are in preparation to com- possibly the best displayed of all tootaun, east of Knocknashee, are plete the country. An eighth volume Irish court tombs. included. The Achonry monument will detail tombs discovered since Thirty-five (8%) of the 465 Irish consists of three huge round boul- the various county volumes were wedge tombs are in Co. Sligo with ders, averaging 2 metres by 2 published. It was a Sligo man, Col. excellent ones being at Gortakeeran metres by lmetre, supporting an W. G. Wood-Martin, who published and Cabragh, west of Coollaney, even larger one. It looks as if it is a "Rude Stone Monuments of Ireland; and Culdaly bear Kilmacteige. The collapsed tomb but the presence of County Sligo and the Island of Achill" Cabragh tomb has the characteristic a deliberately placed small stone as what was intended as the begin- burial gallery with a small chamber between the capstone and one of nings of a similar survey in 1888. marked off in front of it, outer the supports rules this out. If this That scheme does not seem to have walling which gives the wedge was a tomb then the burial space got any further and it was not until shape to the tomb, and a few cap- between the three supporting boul- 1961 that the first volume of the stones. It faces north west. Wedge ders was very small. The Knocka- present survey was published. tombs normally face into the setting tootaun monument has a roofslab 3 The field work for such a survey sun. It is eleven metres long and metres by 2.7 metres supported by is enormous. Only some of the seven metres wide at the west front. seven irregularly placed uprights. tombs are marked on the Ordnance Wedge tombs were the last type of Neither of these monuments fit into Survey maps. They are marked as megalithic tomb to be built. any of the standard classes but then rock-outcrops, some as ringforts Twenty three(12%) of the 189 there are 187 other unclassifiables. and several not at all. The survey of Irish megalithic tombs which do not Despite all these superb Sligo was greatly assisted by the fit into any of these classes are in megalithic structures, many of them Sligo.