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First Battle of Moytura

Ballymacgibbon Cairn

Eochy's Cairn

Daithí's Cairn

Knockma

The Burren

Croagh Patrick Heapstown cairn

Cong

Cong is a small and beautiful village on the border of South Mayo, between Loughs Mask and Corrib. This area has a wealth of monumental structures from ancient times: two massive cairns and the remains of 5 or 6 more, four stone circles, standing stones, caves, and several kinds of enclosure, including forts and large cashels.

In recent years Cong is better known for it's connection with the Quiet Man, some of which was filmed there. It is an unusual area and there are many unusual things to be seen there. The area is associated with the arrival of the Túatha Dé Danann and the First Battle of Moytura, though others think this a romantic tale fabricated by Sir William Wilde, father of Oscar. His writings on the mythology and sites in the area are reproduced here. There are enough ancient sites around Cong to make it obvious that a lot went on there in stone age times. The invading tribes may well have sailed into Galway Bay, up the River Corrib and onto the great lake. Lough Corrib is the second largest lake in Ireland, and it is some 27 miles by boat from Galway to Cong.

There are several large cairns in the area. These are the kind of monument most associated with the Túatha Dé Danann. One of the finest and most accessible examples of an undisturbed and unopened passage cairn can be seen at Ballymacgibbon, just west of Cross. Two or three badly damaged cairns can be found in the fields north of Cross and Cong.

Another large example is Ecohy's Cairn, built in a spectacular location on a low hill a few km north of Cong. This is said to be the grave of the king of the Firbolg, Ecohy. There is a magnificent view to the mountains of Connemara and south Mayo across Lough Mask to the west. The cairn is fairly intact, though some quarrying has taken place. It is surrounded by the remains of a large oval enclosure, which may be a primary feature. The Ordinance Survey Letters for Co Galway suggest that this cairn may have been ringed by standing stones.

The Cong stone circles are easy to visit. They are located at a site known as Nymphsfield about 1.5 km north of the entrance to Ashford Castle, signposted from the road. Access to the first circle (shown at the top of the page) is easy: it is a short walk across a field. This circle is in quite good condition, with most of the stones in place. The other circles are in various stated of preservation to the south and east of the first circle. About one third of the largest circle survives - it is pretty ruined. The smallest circle is also pretty intact, but is covered with thorn bushes and scrub. The fourth, which is in the back garden of the nearby bungalow, surrounded by a wall, is the best preserved of the four.

William Wilde, father of Oscar had this to say:


Before proceeding with the narrative, we must here conduct our readers to the existing Danann monuments that accumulate in the fields opposite the glebe of Nymphsfield, to a portion of which local tradition has assigned the name of Cath na bPunndn, "the battle of the sheaves." There are here five very remarkable stone circles still remaining within the compass of a quarter of a square mile, and there are traces of others. The following examples are highly illustrative of these remarkable monuments. That figured above consists of nineteen flat flagstones placed in a circle, each inclining outwards, perfectly smooth on the outside, but grooved and hollowed on their internal faces, which were evident]y those originally exposed to the action of air or water. A considerable portion of this circle has been removedand its interior, which is now planted, is fifty-four feet in diameter. Some of these stones are five feet over ground, are four feet wide, and eight or ten inches thick. At the south-west corner of the same field, opposite the glebe there is another circle, of which the subjoined is a graphic representation. It consists of a series of standing stones, and is one hundred and fifty-two feet in diameter. Within and around this and the adjoining fields, to the south and east, several perfect cirdes still exist, and the sites of others can still be traced within the confines of Cath na bPunnan; so that here was evidently the stronghold of one of the contending armies.