Overview
Carns — Patrickstown is recorded as Passage tomb in Meath. The passage tomb cemetery often referred to as Loughcrew is dispersed between three of the summits of the ENE-WSW Slieve na Calliagh ridge. It escaped attention during the making of the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map, and almost the first notice occurs in 1864 when E.
Who made it and when
The saved account records: Since the late nineteenth century there was little further notice of the cairns, apart from an investigation and restoration of Cairn H in 1943 by Joseph Raftery of the National Museum of Ireland and passing references in general prehistories, until Professor Herity’s work on Irish Passage Tombs (1974).
How it was made and used
The saved account records: In the folk tradition as recorded by John O’ Donovan in the 1830s (Herity 2001, 38) the cairns were created when a witch, the Calliagh Bhéarra (Beara peninsula, Co. Cork) was performing a magic ritual by jumping eastwards from hilltop to hilltop, depositing stones from her apron.
What was found
The saved account records: According to Coffey (1897, 36) Rotheram dug this tomb, and amongst the artefacts recovered were a sherd of Carrowkeel Ware, three pestle-shaped pendants, two steatite beads, an antler pin, and three stone implements (Herity 1974, 244).
What remains
The saved account records: The cairns are distributed between the hilltops of Carnbane West in Loughcrew and Newtown townlands (14) together with at least three standing stones, on Carnbane East in Corstown townlnad (7) with a standing stone, and at Patrickstown (4).
Why it mattered
Carns — Patrickstown matters because a belief or tradition is tied to this exact place and forms part of its local memory. The source records: She is reputed to be buried on the S side of that hill. The tradition is kept as a recorded belief; it is not silently turned into literal fact.
History checked 15 August 2026 against the named sources below.
Add the human story, a picture, a first-hand message or a missing place.
Earn 5 points after the picture is checked and accepted.
Add a pictureAdd its storyTalk or ask a questionAdd a new placeThe monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
Conversation about this place
Questions and messages sit beneath the source record. They are checked before appearing.
No questions or messages yet.
Ask a question or join the conversation