Many times man lives and dies

That of race and that of soul, And ancient Ireland knew it all.

William Butler Yeats

From high atop the Bricklieve Mountains, among the stone cairns of Carrowkeel, the whole of county Sligo can be seen, a verdant tapestry reaching for the sea. From this perspective one becomes aware of the numerous flat-topped mountains rising up from the plain, and the many unusual bumps and mounds that sit upon these mountain's broad, green backs.

These are ancient stone cairns, quiet sentinels that serve as constant reminder of ancient Ireland's abiding presence.

To the East is Kesh Corran and Treanmore, and to the North is Knocknarea, with its own massive well-known cairn, measuring 10 meters tall and 50 meters wide at its base, which legend says to be the tomb of Maeve, mythic Iron Age Queen of Connacht.

Up in this lofty playing field ancient Ireland still reigns supreme, and walking among the stone ruins of Carrowkeel mere mortals may be invited to share in the secrets of her enduring mystery.

The Carrowkeel/Keshcorran Megalith complex is located west of Lough Arrow just outside the little town of Castlebaldwin and is the sight of the largest concentration of passage tombs in Ireland.

These passage tombs (fourteen in all) are sunken burial chambers made of large limestone slabs, topped with huge piles (cairns) of rocks. These tombs are most usually located high upon hills and mountains and dot the landscape around Sligo County, forming a larger network of ancient sites whose mysterious origin is still largely debated.

Archeologists and Historians say Neolithic farmers built these tombs around 3500 BCE, not only to bury their dead but with a greater significance and purpose in mind, since many of the tomb's designs have undeniable links to the heavens.

The many excavations have yielded cremated human remains along with pendants, beads, stones and pottery fragments. Some artwork has been found as well at other Neolithic sights such as Newgrange and Loughcrew, but not at Carrowkeel.

Irish Mythology says the cairns at Carrowkeel are tombs of the Tuatha de Danann, (The Divine People of the Goddess), ancient warriors who fought the greatest of all mythic battles, called Cath Maige Tuired, there upon the very top of Carrowkeel.

Legend says this is the spot where Lugh hurled his mighty sling, knocking out the eye of Balor of the Evil Eye. This eye was said to have burned a hole in the ground where it landed, forming Lochnasool, or Lake of the Eye which can be seen from the crest of Carrowkeel.

Standing on the flat field of this mountain, high above the verdant hills, it is easy to see why people considered this place sacred. The silence is permeable, the view magnificent, and the mountain incredibly void of any other tourists.

The rock cairns dot the hilltop like so many ant-hills and one begins to lose all perspective of size, feeling impossibly small and insignificant in the grandeur of this mythic landscape.

While roaming the various tombs, the clouds descended with a sudden downpour which seemed almost personal in intent. My traveling companion was no where to be seen and I found myself alone and exposed to the stinging wind and rain. I made a break for tomb g, the entrance seemed big enough for me to squeeze through. I slipped off my back-pack and slid through the limestone blocks that formed the narrow, sunken opening.

Inside the tomb was the quiet of centuries. I struck a match and saw that I was in a little stone room, about the size of a walk-in closet, with just enough room in which to stand.

The walls and the floor were made of giant symmetrical slabs of limestone, and the vaulted ceiling or "roof box" as I later learned it was called, was held up by jamb-stones supporting the lintels, also made of stone. The tomb itself was of course vacant of any trace of previous human occupation and I marveled at the ancient builders who shaped those well built walls and the silent tenants who once occupied this room undisturbed all those centuries.

I was to find out later that the entrance to tomb g was in reality an aperture designed to capture the rays of the setting sun of Summer Solstice, and still does to this day.

As the rain pelted down, I tried to comprehend the centuries that had elapsed between myself and these ancient peoples: The countless days of sun and storm, the view of rolling hills and lakes, framed by the stone portal of this tomb, changing only in color from season to season, year to year.

What thoughts of mortality and the after-life did these ancient people experience, sitting high upon the edge of Carrowkeel, coming slow up the mountain to bury their loved-ones, leaving behind caches of polished round stones and favorite pendants and ornaments worn by the deceased in his or her lifetime.

The living also brought with them stones and pebbles to add to the cairns as a token of respect and status for the occupants within.

It is said to be bad luck to remove a stone from a cairn, and those who take one down off of the mountain will surely experience misfortune. But conversely, and true to the Irish sense of justice, good luck will be yours if you bring a stone up and leave it behind when you leave, out of respect and reverence for these ancient ancestors of Ireland.

Castlebaldwin is located on the N4 about 20 kilometers South of Sligo. Take the Ballymote road out of Castlebaledwin for .2 miles. Veer left at the Y junction and follow the winding but driveable road up the mountain. (There are some signs).

Park your car at the gate and enjoy the twenty-minute walk up the mountain, there is no admission fee for this site.

Yes--the sheep are friendly.

Be sure to stop in at the Castlebaldwin tourism center and pick up some of the wonderful free literature on trails and other ancient sites in the area. The Arrow Community Enterprise research project has done an excellent job compiling information, some of which I have used in writing this piece. Knowing the facts turns a pile of rocks into a megalith monument, and makes the trip more fun.

by Jill Haugh

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