Samhain sunrise over Sliabhrua (Cairn M). Cairn T is just visible as a bump at the extreme left of the photo.

Main Page Guided Tours Introduction Loughcrew Megalithic art The Cailleach Cairns A, B and C Cairn D Cairns E, F and G Cairn H Cairns I, J and K Cairn L Cairns M, N and O Cairn R Cairn S Cairn T Cairn U Cairn V Cairn W Cairns X and Y

The most unusual aspect of this monument is the presence of a tall pillar stone within the chamber known as the Whispering Stone. This slim pillar, rectangular in section, is over 2 meters tall. One gets the impression that the chamber and cairn were constructed to house this stone The only other known example of a standing stone within a chamber discovered so far is the buried stone within Cairn F at Carrowkeel, which is oriented to the Pole Star. The mystery of the Whispering Stone is added to by the orientation of the Chamber. Martin Brennan and his fellow researchers discovered that the sun illuminated this chamber on the mornings of Samhain and Imbolc, ie during the first week of November and the first week of February. As the sun rises over Sliabh Rua, which is also called Carrick Breac - the Speckled Rock, the beam flashes dramatically into the chamber and strikes the top of the Whispering Stone. As the sun rises higher in the sky, the beam of light slips off the standing stone and into the large right-hand recess, which contains the massive basin stone and a finely decorated chamber stone. The beam of light is very bright in the darkness of the chamber and brilliantly illuminates the engravings - see photographs below. It would seem that the monument and chamber were constructed around this mysterious stone. The photographs below, part of a sequence taken on a very cold November morning show something of the movement of the Sun within the recess. Sequence of sunbeam within chamber of Cairn L, 8 November 1997. Light enters the chamber, illuminating the passage orthostats. Left, the sun dramatically strikes the top section of the Whispering stone. Above, the sun has just moved off the Whispering stone and into the back of the recess. The beam of light, reflecting off the end of the recess, is strong enough to fully illuminate the engravings. The sunbeam moves towards the small white stone in the corner. The sunbeam begins to shrink as the sun rises higher in the sky. Last light: the beam breaks up as the sun leaves the chamber. The whole process lasts about 20 minutes.

A rubbing of the engravings by Elizabeth Twohig.