Malin More Portal Tombs — Chamber 6

This, the westernmost of the seven megalithic tombs (National Monument no. 139 (4) in state care) in this townland, is 900m SW of the last (Dg. 90). It stands in pasture reclaimed from the bog on the floor of the valley opening onto the N end of Malin Bay, which is 500m to the W. There is a good outlook from the site to the W and N out to sea and to the E along the valley floor, but steeply rising ground nearby, the lowermost slopes below Leahan Mountain, restrict the view to the S and SE. The monument consists of a row of six megalithic chambers (DG089-008/001/002/003/004/005-) standing at irregular intervals over a distance of 100m. They are in two separate fields, three in each, just S of a narrow road and are here numbered 1 to 6 from W to E. The four intermediate chambers are in a line, running more or less E-W, c. 5m N of and parallel to a line linking the larger terminal chambers. Chamber Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6 are portal tomb chambers; No. 5, though very ruined, seems also to have been one, but the original design of No. 4 is uncertain. The orientations of the four portal tomb chambers are as follows: No. 1 faces ENE; No. 2 faces SSE; No. 3 faces N; and No. 6 faces E. The orientation of No. 4 is uncertain, but in its present state it seems to have faced E. If, as suggested, the remains at No. 5 are those of a portal tomb chamber, it would have faced either E or W when intact. The distances between the chambers from W to E are 12m, 16m, 9m, 14m and 30m. The comparatively large gap between Nos. 5 and 6 suggests there may have been a further chamber between them. If there was such a chamber it may have fallen victim to the construction of the road adjacent to the complex. Thomas Fagan (1845-8), who visited the site in 1847, refers to the existence of seven chambers (see below under No. 1) but provides details of only those numbered 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 here. He claimed that the chambers had stood in one long cairn that he estimated originally measured 100 yards (c. 91m) E-W and 20 yards (c. 18m) N-S. However, it was 'defaced' and 'partly under tillage and fences' when he saw it. A small, low, stony mound, referred to below, survives alongside the easternmost chamber (No. 6) and appears to be the remnant of a cairn. Apart from this, there is a light scatter of partly buried stones over much of the eastern half of the site, but excavation would be required to determine whether these represent an ancient cairn. The Board of Works carried out work at this site toward the end of the 19th century (see Introduction), but the annual reports of that body provide little information about its nature and extent (CPW 1886, 22; 1887, 24, 63; 1888, 24). Borlase's (1897, 244-8) charge that major alterations were made to the two larger chambers (Nos. 1 and 6) is considered below. The chambers No. 6 This partially collapsed portal tomb chamber faces E. Its main roofstone has fallen eastward and now rests, one end on the ground, at the E end of the monument. It lies in a sloping position against the outer ends of the two portal-stones, both of which have collapsed northward. The portal-stones now rest in leaning positions, the southern one on the northern one. Three stones remain in situ: the single orthostats forming each side of the chamber and an inset gabled backstone. A large slab outside and leaning against the NW corner of the chamber appears to be the displaced subsidiary roofstone. This seems to have covered the W end of the chamber, i.e. that part of it behind the portal-stones. There is a displaced pillar-like stone to the W of the subsidiary roofstone. When intact the chamber seems to have been c. 2-3m long and narrowed from c. 2.5m wide immediately behind the portal-stones to 1.4m at the back. A modern field wall adjoins the E end of the displaced main roofstone. Another field wall runs northward from the northern sidestone. A space between the underside of the main roofstone and the leaning northern portal-stone has been blocked by mortared stone, as has a space at ground level between the same portal-stone and the northern sidestone. The main roofstone measures 3.1m by 2.5m and is 0.9m thick. The southern portal-stone, which is flat topped, would stand 2.5m high if upright. The northern portal-stone, somewhat pointed on top, would stand 2.6m high if upright. The southern sidestone leans inward quite markedly and rests against the edge of the backstone, above which it rises 0.5m. It would stand 1.5m high if upright. The northern sidestone leans inward slightly and also rests against the backstone. It is 1.35m high. The backstone, close to lozenge shaped in plan, is 0.8m high. The displaced subsidiary roof stone measures 3.4m by 1.75m and is 0.4m thick. The prostrate pillar-like stone beside it measures 3m by 0.7m by 0.6m. Its original function is not clear. The small mound alongside this chamber has been referred to above. It adjoins the structure at the SW, occupies a long, relatively narrow space measuring 11.3m E-W by 5m N-S and is up to 0.5m high. When Thomas Fagan saw this structure in 1847 the main roofstone had already fallen eastward, although he suggests that the portal-stones were then upright. Norman Moore (1872, 522) noted that the chamber formed one side of a byre. Borlase (1897, 247-8) claimed that under the Board of Works 'the process of overhauling and renovating has been carried on here almost as vigorously' as at the western chamber, but he provided no details. The remains can satisfactorily be interpreted as those of a collapsed portal tomb chamber, and, despite Borlase's claim, there is no evidence that the Board of Works carried out any significant structural alterations here. Fagan 1845-8, book 20, 12-20 (sketches); Fergusson 1872, 226; N. Moore 1872, 521-2 (nos. D I-D VI with rudimentary sketches of Nos. 1, 3 and 6 above); M. Stokes 1882, 19 ('six dolmens' at Glencolumbkille may refer); CPW 1886, 22; CPW 1887, 24, 63 (with sketches of Nos. 1-5); CPW 1888, 24; Anon. 1890-91a (with two sketches of No. 1, p. 260 and p. 262, and one sketch of No. 2, p. 261); Doherty 1891, 108-9; Borlase 1897, 244-8, Banagh nos. 3-8 (sketch of No. 1 on p. 246); RSAI photograph collection (c. 1900); H. Morris 1947, 41, no. B5; Crozier 1957, 70 ('the famous dolmens at Malinmore'); de Valera 1960, 135, no. 34; Killanin and Duignan 1967, 292; Ó Nualláin 1968a, 294, 298, no. 16; Herity 1971, 27, no. 31; Ó Nualláin 1983a, 32-3, nos. 61-6 (photograph of No. 1); Ó Nualláin 1983b, 95, Donegal no. 20; SMR 1987, 89:8; Ó Nualláin 1989, 124; Herity 1990, 49, no. 36 (photograph of No. 1); RMP 1995, 89:8. 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/revision: 06 January 2010