archaeological ireland

The site consists of a huge mound of rough stones about 30.4m in diameter and about 7.6m high. Modern archaeologists reckon that it may well cover a prehistoric burial chamber. However according to legend, it was built to commemorate the first days of fighting of the legendary battle of Moytura between the Tuatha de Danann and the Fir Bolgs which began in the year 3303 B.C....

A visit to the Silver River Nature Trail takes you on a journey into the remote past and provides an insight into a landscape formed by seas and rivers over 400 million years ago. There has been little disturbance to the river valley over the many intervening years and the Silver River gorge retains much of its ancient character. It is special place and one of considerable beauty and interest. The first settlers came to the area about 3000 B.C., but more recently the valley has been visited...

The monastery was founded by St Moling who died in 696. Active in politics, he succeeded in convincing the Leinstermen to let the Munstermen off the Borama, a triditional tribute of cattle which they were forced to pay. St.. Moiling is said to have been Bishop of Ferns and also of Glendalough. The kings of south Leinster, including the McMurrough Kavanaghs, were buried here. St. Mullin's Abbey is a medieval nave-and-chancel church with spiral staircase. Near it are the stump of a Round Tower,...

Archives are viewed by appointment only. Contact  the number above for more information....

The 'Royal County' of Meath boasts a dramatic history and proud heritage that no other country can match. Man has settled here for over 8,000 years and everywhere one turns one can see surviving monuments and relics scattered profusely beside the rolling rivers and on the lush plains. Formerly one of the five historic provinces of Ireland, it was from here that the ancient roads of Ireland radiated, spreading Royal Meath's influence and affluence to all the corners of Ireland....

"For the late Stone Age, Knowth was one of Europe's gretest public buildings. To describe it as a massive and majestic masterpiece that reflected the pride and pomp of contemporary society is not an exaggeration"....

Distributed over many acres and extending into adjoining townlands, Carrowmore represents the largest grouping of megalithic monuments in Ireland, and immense Neolithic burial ground where once there may have been more than a hundred tombs. Casual exploration in the last century and present day gravel quarrying in the vicinity have devalued the archaeological potential of the site; but it is still a rewarding place to visit, steeped in atmosphere and evoking a sense of the past.
The s...

The 'Royal County' of Meath boasts a dramatic history and proud heritage that no other country can match. Man has settled here for over 8,000 years and everywhere one turns one can see surviving monuments and relics scattered profusely beside the rolling rivers and on the lush plains. Formerly one of the five historic provinces of Ireland, it was from here that the ancient roads of Ireland radiated, spreading Royal Meath's influence and affluence to all the corners of Ireland....

Dowth is the third of the great passage graves in the royal cemetery at Bru na Boinne. Similar in size to Newgrange an Knowth (85 metres in diameter and 15m in height), it has unfortunately suffered considerably more weathering and erosin than its neighbours over the years. Dowth contains two modest passages, both situated in the western part of the mound and located about 20 metres apart. The more northerly tomb is the most impressive; it is of cruciform design and off one of the side cham...

One of the most spectacular megalithic tombs of the distinctive south Leinster group, a stately Neolithic mausoleum, 'remarkable', to quote Borlase, 'for its solidity, and the perfect carrying out of a unity of design'. As a scheduled National Monument it is entitled to better care than it currently receives. 'It stands neglected in a corner of the disused burial ground of Kilburrin, 4 miles south-south-west of Waterford city, its great lichen encrusted stones emerging from a tangle of overgrow...