Kilmogue Portal Dolmen
In the townland of Harristown in Kilkenny lies what must surely be one of Ireland's finest examples of a Portal Dolmen.
.JPG "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
Kilmogue Portal Dolmen has been mooted as the tallest in Ireland and this I can well believe.
It is staggeringly and unusually tall for a Dolmen.
.JPG "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
Kilmogue could perhaps be translated as the Church of Saint Mogue who was a Bishop of Ferns and is associated with both Wexford and Carlow nearby.
This is an 1800's name change as the area was previously called Kilmoge amongst other variations and in the 1500's simply Kilmog so it may have no relevance to Saint Mogue at all.
.jpg "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
Kilmogue Portal Dolmen was also called locally Leac an Scáil, the "Rock of the hero".
.JPG "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
These burial places are also known as Cromlechs or Portal Tombs and in Cornish, Quoit's. The word Dolmen itself is derived from the breton word Tolmen, a table.
.JPG "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
A Portal Dolmen is a large, stone, single chambered tomb.
.jpg "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
The Portal refers to the opening at the front of the Dolmen from which they could be accessed either for burial or for worship and ritual.
.JPG "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
They have 2 or more side stones that support the roof which is a large "Capstone" or occasionally but rarely "Capstones".
.JPG "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
The Capstone (roof) is angled or sloped to the back of the tomb. At the rear is a back stone which completes the assemblage.
.jpg "Kilmogue Portal Dolmen")
The tombs may have been reused several times and a single stone used to close it off.
It is presumed that at the very least they were covered with a huge mound of earth however it is also suggested and very probably that many would also have been covered in a mound or "cairn" of small loose stones.
It is also highly likely that some Portal tombs were covered with elongated earthen mounds which ran in a lengthwise and linear fashion much like British Long Barrows although as of yet no actual physical evidence exists for this arrangement in Ireland.
To paraphrase, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
.jpg "Kilmogue Standing Stone")
Archaeological investigations have revealed that Dolmens were often a multi burial site with multiple remains sometimes found as in the case of the Poulnabrone Dolmen where 33 individuals were identified along with bone jewellery, axes and pottery.
.JPG "Kilmogue Standing Stone")
Built almost 6000 years ago these field monuments are truly ancient.
The Portal Dolmen at Kilmogue is particularly striking for it sheer size although my photographs perhaps do not represent its scale accurately.
.JPG "Kilmogue Standing Stone")
There are some trees nearby in some of the photographs which may help to show the Dolmens proper scale.
This particular Dolmen is unusual in having more than one Capstone and its angle of inversion is much steeper than is often the case.
Portal Dolmens are found throughout the world with the Irish variety very closely resembling those of Brittany and mainland western Europe.
The builders of these funerary monuments were some of the first immigrant farmers of the neolithic period in Ireland.
If time permits a visit to Kilmogue Portal Dolmen is highly recommended.
Just slightly West south west in an adjoining field is a single irregular Standing Stone. It is visible from the rear of the Dolmen.
Keep the wheels turning.
Coordinates here: