Hello friends, Aidan here from Gifts of Ireland 🇮🇪.
On a recent trip back from visiting our friends at Belleek, I decided to take a bit of a detour. The sun was blazing, the sky was clear, and I couldn’t resist the pull of Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery—a place I’d heard about for years but never truly explored. And let me tell you, it turned out to be one of the most intriguing and thought-provoking places I’ve ever visited in Ireland.
As we arrived, you could see the sea in the distance from the gentle slope of the hill. And around us? Field after field dotted with ancient stone circles and dolmens, some neatly laid out and others still half-hidden in overgrown corners of pasture. What really got me was how it all just kept going. I’d be standing in one circle, looking around—and there’d be another, then another. A whole network of sacred spaces stretching out across the landscape.
The visitor centre happened to be closed when I arrived, but the fields were open and welcoming. I ended up hopping a low wall and making my way through the animal-grazed land, with the blessing of the local farmer, who clearly takes great pride in allowing respectful visitors onto the site. You could tell the locals respect this place deeply—the grass was trimmed, the stones were cared for, and there was no sense of commercialisation. Just history, quietly present.
Some of the fields haven’t even been excavated yet. There’s one section that’s still untouched—and it makes you wonder how many stories are still buried just under the surface. It gave me a real feeling that we’ve only just scratched the surface of our past.
Carrowmore is one of the oldest and largest collections of megalithic tombs in Ireland, dating back as far as 3700 BC. Some of the dolmens here are portal tombs, others are passage tombs, and many are surrounded by low cairns and stone rings. It’s a layout unlike anywhere else I’ve visited. While other tombs like Newgrange get the spotlight, Carrowmore has this quiet magic to it—a rawness that makes the past feel close.
I spent hours there just walking, photographing, filming, and wondering. There’s something truly grounding about standing among stones that have seen more millennia than any castle or cathedral ever could.
If you’re ever in Sligo, or even making a trip up from Belleek like I did, I highly recommend carving out a few hours for Carrowmore. Just be sure to keep an eye out for sheep on the way in 😉
Slán go fóill,
Aidan 💚🇮🇪☘️
