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Daíthí's Pillar Stone - marks the grave of the last Pagan High King of Ireland. Legend has it that Daíthí was struck dead by a bolt of lightning while raiding in the Alps. |
Rath Croghan, also known as Cruchan Ai, is the ancient Capital of he province of Connaught. Though the site is best known for its associations with the Celtic Queen Maeve, several of the monuments there date from the neolithic. It is the site of many mythological tales, including the Táin Bo Culainge, and was the abode of gods and creatures from the Otherworld. Rath Croghan and the nearby site of Carnfree covers an area of about 100 square kilometers of fine farming and grazing land. There are about 200 monuments in this rich region, which include ringforts, barrows, mounds, ancient roads, standing stones, earthworks, ogham stones, caves and megalithic structures. The largest and best known structure is Rathcroghan itself, the place of Queen Maeve and ancient capital of the provence of Connaught.
Beranger's record of the mound of Rathcroghan from almost 200 years ago. Other monuments are The Cave of the Cats, said to be the home of the Morrigan, and one of the entrances into the Otherworld. This is a limestone fissure with a man-made opening, which recycled an ogham stone from nearby Relig na Righ. There is a large ringfort called Rath na Tarbh, the Fort of the Bulls, where the final combat between the great bulls took place. Daithi's mound is a barrow with a pillar stone (shown below) placed at the centre. Daithi, who is said to be buried here, was to be the last pagan king of Ireland. There are several roadways in the area, which may have once carried chariots. It is likely that in Celtic times a road would have linked Rathcroghan to Tara. |
Daithi's pillar stone and barrow.
