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Cairn A is a small, unopened grass-covered cairn, 3 meters high and 14 meters in diameter, located in the townland of Tully to the southwest of Carrowkeel. It is somewhat isolated from the main group, but is sited in a position where Cairn B is visible. Perhaps belongs more to the Kesh and Sheecor group of cairns west of Carrowkeel. Cairn A is visible as a small green bump straight ahead on a spur of the hill before taking the left turn into Carrowkeel on the way up from Castlebaldwin. Cairn A was discovered by Praeger in 1911 - he went on a field walk while Macalister and Armstrong carried on digging in Carrowkeel. When he examined this monument, Macalister considered this cairn too small to contain a chamber and possibly considered it unworthy of excavation. Cairns without chambers, or where they could not find the chamber, were considered to be cenotaphs - monuments to people buried elsewhere - by the antiquarians.
Summer solstice sunset viewed from Cairn A. View is north west to Cairnanweeleen.
The
sun appears to roll down the hill towards the notch at midsummer when
viewed from Cairn A. Whatever else it was designed for, Cairn A has a fantastic view out through the Bricklieves and across the Plain of Sligo, and serves as a platform to watch the movements of the sun, culminating at the mid-summer sun set. As the sun descends, it drops over the valley or notch between Cairnaweeleen and Kesh Corran. This alignment has been photographed by local researcher Leo Regan (illustrated above). This use of the mounds as platforms to observe the movements of the heavens is a much overlooked aspect of these monuments. They are special places to stand and observe solar, lunar and stellar rising and setting positions at particular times in their cycles. There is a good chance that the extreme mid-winter setting moon will set into the gap between Doomore cairn and Treanmacmurtagh cairn, midway between Kesh cairn and Knocknarea in the picture below. |
The
panorama from Cairn A. Kesh Corran and Treanmacmurtagh Cairn are to the right, Doomore, Croghaun and Knocknarea are visible on the horizon, and Sliabh Da Ean and Benbulben to the right. |
