Sunday the 2nd of October 2022 took myself and my partner on our first trip in our newly converted camper (more about that another time!). We decided on a short, day outing to a place I’ve long wanted to see, Fourknocks cairn, on the Dublin/Meath border. I first heard of this fascinating place maybe six or seven years ago so it was about time I visited!
Fourknocks, is thought to come from the Irish Fuar (cold) and cnoic (hills), though in Irish it should properly be written as Cnoic fhuar, with the adjective after the noun. The cairn is accessed through a solid steel door which is unusual for similar monuments and the key can be obtained from a couple who live approx 1.5km from the site. I have to admit, it was so good to have our camper with us and a nice novelty to park in the small lay-by opposite the entrance and eat our sandwiches and make tea on our simple gas cooker!
The cairn is at the end of a short enough path and from the outside, the dome does not appear very large. One thing was very obvious however, and that is, its location. As you drive through this undulating countryside, criss-crossed by hedgerows, you are unaware of your elevation till you stand at the cairn when the vista opens to amazing views towards Slieve Gullion and Donard in the Mourne Mountains, to Loughcrew (Sliabh na Caillí) and to the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. Without realizing, you are travelling uphill to this point and it is certainly easy to see why this spot was chosen as a special place by our ancestors. We were all alone there, so it meant we could have a good private viewing, and soak up the atmosphere and boy, we got more than we expected!
But first, what is Fourknocks and when was it built. Well, the cairn is in and about 5000 years old and dates from the Neolithic period, similar to Newgrange, Sliabh na Caillí and Carrowkeel etc. Its excavation in 1957 revealed a burial place for about 56 people, men, women and children and some from the later Bronze age. About 80% were cremated and the site also included some personal items and animal bones. It is believed that a wooden pole held up the roof which may also have been of wood although there is also evidence of corbelling, though not over the passage area which may have been uncovered. It is thought that the roof expanse was too large which eventually caused it to collapse and not surprisingly as the chamber inside is quite big, one of the largest in the Neolithic world. As is common, it has a cruciform structure, with the passage and three chambers, one at the top and two at either side.
And this is where our story begins, all 10 seconds of it, at least of the phenomenon, right at the entrance to the main chamber. I took out my phone camera and set to flash as it was very dimly lit, the only light source being the passage which we partly blocked and a couple of holes in the roof. However, when I looked at my screen, it was “alive” with what I would describe as “wiggling worms” which moved across my viewing area. I couldn’t make head nor tale of what it was and looked all about me to see if something was hanging down but there was nothing ahead except the darkened chamber. Now, interestingly, my partner looked up as I said, “what’s going on?” and he looked past me, into the chamber to see, thinking I’d seen something in there. However, he wasn’t able to see the interior as he described a glow all about me (ie in front of me and which I couldn’t see with my own eyes) and this light blocked the view of the chamber. I managed to get one photo of the end of the “wiggling” but there were far more of these shapes on the screen before that.
I did test the phone camera at home after in a darkened room and noticed how when I touched the screen to focus in (while on flash mode), it did brighten up, but it also lit up the room and only for a second. This is in contrast to my partner’s experience which was that the light actually blocked the view, as the glow emanated out from the chamber rather than the other way around. Also the shapes remined bright all the time, not only for a second when I tipped the screen
All in all, as I said, it lasted about 10 seconds, so long enough to look around me, long enough for me to verify that nothing was floating in the atmosphere and long enough for my partner to witness the light.
After it past, we entered and were genuinely amazed at the symbols on the stones, many on the overhead lintel stones. Very geometric in nature, diamonds, zigzags and some circles, they are also very well preserved and deeply engraved into the rocks. A few minutes into our time there, I was aware of having a headache, one which left immediately on exiting the cairn. I also completed a quick watercolour sketch of the inside, adding to my sketch book of my travels in Ireland since summertime.
I have to say, that this place has held more energy than anywhere else I’ve visited, not good or bad but definitely powerful. Not sure what we experienced and I’m not going to assume anything but it was certainly something! Looking forward to going back again sometime!.