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Carrowkeel is one of the least known of Ireland's ancient sites, but without doubt it is one of the most spectacular, the views alone making the visit worthwhile. It is easy to understand why our ancient ancestors chose this spot to revere their dead.
Viewed in the early morning sunshine you can understand why the old Irish name for the
Bricklieve mountains translates as “Speckled Mountain”.
There is some dispute about the age of the complex but it is at least 5500 years old, (the oldest carbon dated remains found at Carrowkeel are that age), making it 2000 years older than the Pyramids. There are however some studies that estimate Carrowkeel at 7000 yrs old which means Carrowkeel was already an ancient site when work first started on the more well known Newgrange, which dates from 3500 bc.
Cairn G is the first cairn the visitor meets when climbing up from the top car park at Carrowkeel. It is the best preserved of the Carrowkeel monuments and a fine example of a cruciform Irish Passage Cairn little changed in over 6,000 years. One really interesting feature is the roofbox which aligns with the sunset at the Summer Solstice (midsummer). The only other cairn in Ireland with the same feature is Newgrange but in this case alignment is with the rising sun at the Winters Solstice.
Over the centuries the Cairns have been covered over by the expanding bog, when they were built the area would have been bare limestone, similar to the Burren in County Clare. It is believed they were originally covered in a layer of quartz rock, what a sight that must have been.
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