Today I cycled past Stradbally and down the N80 before heading for Ballycoolan in search of what is listed on the Record of Monuments and Places as "Cairn Unclassified".
Why this Cairn is unclassified I have no idea so I'll guess that no archaeological investigation has taken place. If that's the case this is a shame.
It's a bit difficult to reach this Cairn but the views of the surrounding countryside are outstanding on a clear day. I hid the bike in some scrub and put on a pair of runners before searching for it.
Today I could clearly see Mount Leinster looming in the distant Blackstairs mountains and The Wicklow and Dublin mountains seemed just a stones throw away.
Laois has very little by way of Megalithic structures so I have no idea why more investigation is not done on structures such as the probable Cist at Manger or this Cairn at Ballycoolan. I can only presume it is either a lack of resources or a lack of appreciation for these places and their intrinsic historic and heritage value.
The Cairn here at Ballycoolan has a couple of depressions in it which would seem to suggest that underneath it there was at some stage a hollow area, suggestive of a burial chamber or chambers. These depressions lead me to believe that the Cairn is not contemporary and dates to pre history, that's my uneducated 2 cents worth.
These pictures don't do the site justice and standing beside the Cairn it is easier to get a picture of what exactly it may have represented. There is no logical reason for the depressions on the Cairn other than the stones collapsing into a buried hollow in the Cairn itself.
Keep the wheels Turning.