Court tomb in Moygara

Almost 1km W of the N end of Lough Gara on a patch of rocky pasture in gently rolling land. The remains of a court (min. L 6m; Wth c. 8m at its inner end) at the NW, its more westerly arm represented by four stones and the opposite arm by two, opens into two galleries set side by side. Little remains of the more westerly gallery (min. L 7m) the entrance to which is formed by two jambs. A sidestone abuts the more easterly of these and there is another on the same side almost 4m to the S. Opposite this there is another sidestone and between them what appears to be a segmenting jamb. Its presence indicates there was further gallery structure here. The second gallery (min. L 6.5m) consists of an antechamber represented by the more easterly entrance jamb and a sidestone abutting it. Segmenting jambs separate this from a chamber the E side of which is represented by a single stone and the W side by two stones. Another pair of segmenting jambs stand between the last and another chamber, its intact W side of two stones and two of a likely original three stones in place at the E. A segmenting jamb adjoins the outer end of the W side of this indicating that there was at least one further chamber here. There are some displaced stones at the site. (Ó Nualláin 1989, 79-80, no. 126) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). SL044-051----_01.jpg. View of the court from north-west showing the court stones (right) and the two entrance jambs of the western gallery. See linked document with details from Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume V. County Sligo. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1989) Revised by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 29 August 2014

Court tomb, dating to the Neolithic period (c. 4000–2500 BCE). This type of tomb is significant as an early form of megalithic monument, often associated with communal burial and ritual practices in early Irish society.