Goward Dolmen

Goward Dolmen is a megalithic dolmen or cromlech situated between Hilltown and Castlewellan in County Down, Northern Ireland, two miles from Hilltown.[1] It is in a farmer's field in the townland of Goward, in the parish of Clonduff. It is known locally as Pat Kearney's Big Stone or Cloughmore Cromlech. The huge granite capstone has slipped from its original horizontal position.[2]

Goward Dolmen, September 2010

Goward Dolmen portal tomb is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Goward, in the Newry and Mourne District Council area, at grid ref: J2437 3104.[3]

Features

The capstone is 13 ft long (4.0 m) and 10 ft wide (3.0 m), with an estimated weight of 50 tons and standing 14 ft high (4.3 m) overall. The capstone has shifted sideways on its supporting uprights, possibly due to the collapse of the backstone, and now overhangs the chamber on its north side. The unsegmented burial chamber is 9 feet long with an entrance on the east, flanked by orthostats which could be the remains of a crescent shaped facade.[4] Its largest stone is the enormous capstone which has fallen sideways, revealing the megalithic chamber it once covered, in which a cremation urn and a flint arrowhead were found in 1834. Stones standing independently at the eastern side of the monument suggest that it may once have had a forecourt facade like a court-tomb.[5]

Folklore

The dolmen has had a variety of names in the past, among them Finn's Finger (after the legendary giant Finn MacCool, presumably because of the tall slender upright stone at the front of the chamber; while to some it is known as Pat Kearney's Big Stone, named after the occupier of an adjacent cottage who for many years assumed the unofficial role of custodian of the monument.[4]

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References
  1. "Goward Dolmen". Megalithic Ireland. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  2. "Goward Dolmen in Clonduff parish". Ros Davies' Co. Down, Northern Ireland Genealogy Research Site. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  3. "Goward Dolmen" (PDF). Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  4. "Goward". County Down - Heritage/Historical. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  5. "Goward Dolmen". County Down - Heritage/Historical. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
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