Lurgan Court Tomb

This monument is in drumlin country c. 6km N of Ballyshannon. It stands on a slight knoll in pasture c. 3km inland from Donegal Bay. The outlook from the site is restricted by low hills, but the sea is visible to the W. The remains consist of the inner end of a court, to the E, leading to a chamber now open at the back. The surviving structure stands near the centre of a grass-grown mound of roughly round outline measuring 15m N-S by 16m E-W. The mound is flat on top and rises c. 1m above the surface of the knoll. A courtstone adjoins each entrance jamb of the chamber. The northern courtstone is 0.45m high, and the southern one is 0.6m high. The entrance jambs, each 1m high, stand 0.8m apart. Inside these is a prostrate slab, apparently a displaced lintel. This measures 1.8m by 1m by 0.6m thick. The chamber is c. 3.5m long. The front half is 2m wide, and it narrows to 1.7m at its open end. Two sidestones survive at the N, and three at the S. The outer sidestone at the N is 0.85m high. The inner stone is 1.25m high. On the S side the stone adjoining the southern jamb is 0.75m high; the second is only 0.1m high; and the third sidestone here is 0.25m high. The slight narrowing of the chamber at its western end may indicate a point of segmentation along a largely destroyed gallery. Mahr 1937, 426, no. 21 (Rossnowlagh may refer); H. Morris 1947, 41, no. BIO probably refers; Ó Nualláin 1983a, 24, no. 34 (plan); SMR 1987, 103:22; Ó Nualláin 1989, 117; RMP 1995, 103:22. 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) Attached images: DG103-022----_01.pdf details from Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI. County Donegal. DG103-022----_01.JPG court tomb viewed from N