Poll na mbrón/ poll na brón (Poulnabrone) Dolmen, County Clare.

Poll na mbrón/ poll na brón (Poulnabrone) Dolmen, County Clare.

Sunday the 23rd of October 22, we decided to set off on another road trip, a bit longer this time, in our trusty camper Éalú. Looking at the forecast, it appeared the best weather would be in County Clare and sure enough as we began to head south, the torrential rain abated, and we were driving in bright sunshine.

Our destination was the famous and most iconic of all our Portal Dolmens, Poulnabrone in County Clare. However, as ever we got a bit side-tracked as we thought we might pay a visit to Fr. Ted’s house from the TV series, which is situated, kind of on the way. I say “kind of” as it meant going off the beaten track quite a bit but luckily it also meant we stumbled across the magnificent Kilmacduagh Monastery, complete with leaning Round Tower and an assembly of ruins dating from the 11th to 13th century.  The site was founded in the 7th century by St. Colman Mac Duach and there is a funny little story about his three pets, a rooster a mouse and a fly. According to the legend, the Rooster would crow to remind him to pray, the mouse would wake him every time he overslept, and the fly would walk under the lines of this prayer book so he wouldn’t lose his place! The monastery was plundered in the 13th century but remained the seat of the Bishop till the 16th Century.

After stopping by Fr. Ted’s house which is on the edge of the magnificent burren, we headed into the amazing wilderness of bare limestone that is home to Poulnabrone dolmen. The landscape takes on an unearthly quality, with natural pavements intersected by crevices and deeper gorges, gouged out by eons of water seeping into and dissolving the limestone. It is a land of unique flora too, though in autumn, this is not so evident as in spring or summer when both Alpine and Mediterranean flowers flourish in every weather worn hollow.

In the midst of this and surrounded by hills with roads that twist and hair-pin through this fertile wasteland, stands the magnificence of Poulnabrone. The name is debatable, whether it comes from Poll na mbrón (hollow of the sorrows or sadness) or Poll na brón (hollow of the mill or quern stone). Both, it appears, have a justifiable meaning. Anyhow, It is an imposing site, this monument in the midst of nowhere. There is a car park beside it and along the path to it, stand quite a few information boards which explain not only the dolmen, but the unique landscape in which it is set.

Built somewhere about 5,800 years ago or perhaps slightly older, the huge capstone is about 4m x 2-3m. The remains of 33 people were found on the site and were thought to be moved there after burial. They appear unrelated and some had a violent death with most showing signs of arthritis. It appears from DNA samples taken from an “elderly” woman (about 55), that the nearest modern population live in Sardinia, which is evidence of how, since earliest times, human beings were always on the move.  It is also thought that Portal Dolmens are often the “skeletons” of a much bigger monument, whereby a sloping cairn like structure filled the lower part. Over time, these stones were removed and only the underneath framework was left.

While there and while waiting for the fry-up to cook in the camper, I completed another little sketch to add to my series of on the spot quick paintings. This was our first time to properly try out our camper stove and there was nothing like a sausage sandwich (even if I forgot the plates, forks or knives!).

Before we headed home, we took a short drive to Black head and took in the serenity of sunset sky over Galway Bay, looking towards the Aran Islands. So tranquil and weirdly mild for this time of the year.  Hope to go back there again soon as there is so much more to see in that part of Ireland!

     

Contact Details

Margaret McKenna
Carrick Eighter, Virginia, Co. Cavan, Ireland
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Art to me, is storytelling a means to visually capture the atmosphere and tell the tales behind our landscape or capture the essence of that person’s character.

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