Uaghneenderg Megalithic Tomb — Slieve League

This monument, 250m WSW of and slightly uphill from the last, is partly concealed by a road built over it. It is on a level patch of wet, boggy ground where rock exposures are frequent. Lough Meenaviller, 230m to the NE, is just visible from the tomb. A rocky ridge to the S and rising ground to the N and E restrict the outlook in those directions. Toward the W is an uninterrupted view of the sea. The monument is described as it appeared when surveyed in 1982. The visible remains consist of an upright stone still in its original position and four slabs that appear to be displaced, all close together c. 5m from the W end of a lightly grass-grown cairn. The original extent and outline of the cairn are uncertain owing to concealment by the road. This road has existed in some form since at least 1835, the date of the original OS 6-inch survey of the area. It is claimed locally that the monument was damaged when road improvements were undertaken in 1929. It seems that the long axis of the cairn lay approximately E-W, in which direction it now measures 16m, and it extends 6.3m northward from the road edge. The set stone, aligned NW-SE, projects from the face of the metalled bed of the unfenced road, the surface of which rises 0.4m above it. This stone, at least 0.5m long, is 0.15m thick and is exposed to a depth of 0.8m in gaps among the cairn stones. Three of the four displaced slabs lie one after another to the W of the set stone, and the fourth lies immediately N of the others. The southern end of the one beside the set stone is overlain by the road. It measures 0.75m by at least 0.3m and is 0.2m thick. The southern end of the next is also overlain by the road. This measures 0.7m by at least 0.8m and is 0.2m thick. The next one leans markedly to the NW, its base hidden by cairn stones. Although it is possible that it stood upright here, the likelihood is that it too is displaced. As exposed, it measures 0.85m by 0.8m and is 0.3m thick. The fourth displaced stone, the northernmost at the site, rests in a sloping position on the uneven surface of the cairn, its southern end partly concealed. This measures 1.9m by 0.7m and is 0.15m thick. When Thomas Fagan (1845-8) visited here in 1847 he noted that the monument was damaged. Toward the western end of the cairn one 'grave', which he considered to have been part of a larger structure, then survived. This measured 10 feet by 5 feet (c. 3.05m by 1.5m) and was enclosed by flags 1-3 feet (c. 0.3-0.9m) high. It was partly covered by a flag measuring 51/2 feet by 21/2 feet (c. 1.7m by 0.75m) and 1 foot (c. 0.3m) thick. There can be little doubt that the remains are those of a megalithic tomb, but it cannot be classified in its present state. Fagan 1845-8, book 19, 51-2; H. Morris 1947, 41, no. B14; Killanin and Duignan 1967, 140 (Uaghneenderg); Ó Nualláin 1983a, 44, no. 123; SMR 1987, 96:16; Ó Nualláin 1989, 142; RMP 1995, 96:16. 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)