Court tomb in Na Fargáin (tc Leitir Mhic An Bhaird)

The monument is not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch map. It is close to the coast on a fall of ground overlooking Gweebarra Bay to the W and the estuary of the Gweebarra River c. 1km to the S. Rising ground restricts the outlook to the N and E. The fair pasture in the locality is broken by numerous occurrences of outcropping rock. The monument consists of an unroofed but otherwise well-preserved gallery that is preceded at the E by the remains of a court. A peculiarity of this monument is the use of a large erratic as the inner end of the N side of the gallery. A projection of the outer end of this rock narrows the gallery just beyond mid-length and was apparently availed of to effect a division of the gallery into two chambers. The incorporation of this large rock in the structure may account for the positioning of the monument on a fall of ground that, 3m to the S, gives way to a steep rocky ledge. A modern field wall runs diagonally across the gallery. There are some humps and hollows in the ground to the N of the gallery but no reliable trace of any cairn material. The fall in ground level to the S and W of the tomb would have presented difficulties in any attempts to raise a cairn. Seven courtstones survive, of which two serve as the entrance jambs of the gallery. A single orthostat flanks the southern entrance jamb, and four contiguous ones survive beyond the northern jamb. The courtstones are small, and a decrease in height toward the outermost is apparent at the N. The stone flanking the southern jamb is 1.05m high, and that next to the northern jamb is 0.3m high. The heights of the succeeding three courtstones at the N are 0.3m, 0.2m and 0.15m. Both the size and the original design of the court are now unclear. The northern entrance jamb is partly forward of the southern, but they are well matched in other respects and stand 0.75m apart. That to the N, the top of which slopes downward slightly toward the outside, is 0.55m high. The southern one is more or less flat on top and 0.55m high. A displaced slab, apparently a lintel, rests against the outer end of this. It measures 1.8m by 0.85m by 0.4m thick. The gallery is just over 5m long internally. The outer half is 2-2.5m wide; it narrows to 0.85m at mid-length; and the inner half is 1.5m wide. A stone, 1.5m by 0.45m by 0.5m, lying across the gallery at mid-length forms part of the field wall crossing the monument. At either side of this stone the floor of the gallery has been dug to a depth of c. 0.5m and is now quite uneven. Three stones form the N side of the gallery, and three its S side. There is an additional stone inside the outermost orthostat at the S, which serves to double the side-wall. The gallery is closed by a more or less flat-topped backstone, its N end set inside the line of the gallery and its S end set beyond the S side of the same. The outermost orthostat at the N side of the gallery has a flat inner and a sloping outer face and rises c. 0.1m above the top of the adjacent entrance jamb. At its inner face it is exposed to a maximum depth of 1.1m. The next, the top of which is 0.5m below that of the first, is a small stone exposed to a depth of 0.6m at its inner face but only 0.1m at its outer face. There is a very small upright stone (not hatched on plan) wedged against the NW corner of this, which measures 0.3m by 0.1m and is 0.3m high. The inner half of this side of the gallery wall is formed by the large rock already referred to. This is broadest close to its outer end and narrows considerably toward the back of the gallery. It measures 2.7m long by 1.7m in maximum thickness and is 1.75m in maximum height. Its height decreases to the W. The outermost orthostat on the S side of the gallery is exposed to a depth of 0.05m at its inner face and 0.15m at its outer face. The stone inside this is exposed to a height of 0.1m at its outer face and 0.4m at its inner face. It serves to close a space between the entrance jamb and the gallery wall. The second sidestone at this side is 0.8m high. It rises c. 0.7m over the innermost stone, which is exposed to a depth of 0.1m at its inner face and 0.4m at its outer face. The backstone, which is more or less flat topped, leans inward slightly. It measures 0.8m high at its inner face. There are two small embanked enclosures, possibly hut sites, c. 20m E of the tomb. One is round and measures 7.5m in overall diameter, and adjoining this at the N is a rectangular one measuring 8m by 6m. Cookman 1987, 133. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008 See linked document with details from Eamon Cody, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI. County Donegal. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002)