What is recorded here

Cloonlooaun holds a broken portal tomb where ancient people likely placed their dead before forgetting the way back. Centuries of neglect and human reuse have scattered its stones, leaving a tall entrance slab and leaning roofs to mark a chamber that no longer closes. The valley keeps the shape even when the meaning blunts, inviting imagination to finish what time has broken.

On N side of a valley c. 3km SE of Renvyle. The monument is greatly disturbed and is partly incorporated in an animal pen. It comprises the ruins of a chamber aligned NW-SE. The entrance, at SE, is marked by a tall portal stone flanking a doorstone. A sidestone, partly overlapping the portal, leans out to SW and a large upright slab, probably a displaced roofstone, leans against it. A second flat roofstone, to NW, overlies another large slab. The NE side of the monument is missing; an old field fence abuts the entrance on this side. While the precise design cannot be established with certainty, the monument appears to be of the portal-tomb class. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Portal tomb; Neolithic period. Its partly preserved chamber and prominent portal stone indicate a significant ritual or burial function in early Irish prehistory.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.