Proleek Dolmen in County Louth is a portal tomb of epic proportions. The capstone weighs between 35-40 tons, and at its peak is over 4 metres in height. It is supported by two portal stones over 2 metres in height and a slightly smaller backstone, which is buttressed by a modern concrete support.
Proleek Dolmen is situated at the rear of a golf course which detracts somewhat from the experience of visiting this fine monument. Usually people take the signposted path through the course to the stones however on my visit I decided to try and find a different route through fields to the rear of the golf course. Personally I’d recommend doing this as its more isolated and quiet and once the capstone comes into sight behind the hedgerows it’s a more dramatic sight to behold.
It is understandable that much folklore is ascribed to this wonderful monument. It has been referred to in the past as ‘The Giant’s Load’ as it was believed to have been carried here by a Scottish giant named ‘Parrah Boug MacShagean’. A story recounted many times, including in Ordnance Survey Letters from 1836, state that this is the place where Parrah Bough and Fionn Mac Cumhaill met. When Parrah arrived in Ireland he asked Fionn’s wife to show him where Fionn ate his meals, she told him and Parrah went to this place, killed a bullock, cooked it and ate. When he had finished eating he went to the Flurry river which runs close to Proleek to satisfy his thirst but Fionn threw poison into the river and killed the giant. Parrah was believed to have been interred in the fine wedge tomb that stands close to the Dolmen.
The translation of the name of this monument is unclear, with linguistics suggesting it may be the ‘Death Stones’ or the ‘Dinner Stones’. As it is situated on the Cooley Peninsula, the site of much of the Irish epic tale ‘Táin Bó Cuailgne’ the Portal Tomb was described by one writer in 1908 as, ‘the grave of some fallen chieftain from a battle in the Táin’.
A local tradition that is followed to the present day is that a wish would be granted to anyone who can throw a pebble from the ground and land it on top of the capstone without it falling off, the amount of pebbles on the capstone on the day of my visit shows how commonly practiced this local tradition is. Another branch of this belief states that those who can throw a pebble onto the capstone will be married before the end of the year!
Excavations at Proleek yielded cremated and uncremated human remains, and fragments of pottery, ornaments and stone implements. It is dated to around 3000BC. Some theorists have proposed that the tomb is aligned so that its portal stones point towards Slieve Gullion and the setting sun of the summer solstice.
GPS: 54.03718, -6.34825
Fascinating post ~ never heard of this particular one . Very impressive and rather magical ~ too bad it is incorporated into anything as mundane as a golf course.
I know right?! Having people teeing off and putting around a green can be a serious distraction. I like my sites empty and quiet so I can get a feel for the place, this is next to impossible at Proleek sadly.
Yes, ideally I think anyone that cares and is truly interested in history and ancient sites much prefers it to be, as much as is possible ,in it’s original setting~ at least allowed a decent amount of space to itself, if something has to be built.(most the time the thing built it is something nobody really needs , just ‘developers’ making more money .) I think these ancient monuments need to be treated with some measure of respect and allowed a bit of dignity. However , we know what most people’s priorities are. I am just glad it is still there and standing! Thank you for sharing all your interesting posts.
I echo your sentiments Valkrye and sadly there are monuments of such importance to our ancestors that are being so desecrated to the point of one tomb being used to house someone’s wheelie-bins 🙁 At least Proleek is given some respect.
Yes, I remember reading your post about the tomb and the bins~ how bizarre really that such a thing should even be allowed to happen. You would just assume all ancient monuments would at the very least be protected by some agency for heritage or culture from any interference, but have read more than once about various abuses of them . As you say, at least Proleek is given some respect and it does seem especially rich with legend and story.
If there are holy things in this world, this is chief amongst them. Just glad that my first time seeing it was before the golf course. Thank you.