Rathlackan, county Mayo

G 166 388 - Sheet 24

Nearest hamlet: Rathlackan
Nearest village: Ballycastle

A court-tomb still largely embedded in the peat which gradually covered it in the "Little Ice Age" after 2000 BCE.
The exposed court and front edges of the cairn are well-preserved and impressive, even if the stones are not very tall.
In the lower photograph, you can see the thin door-slab now moved to the left of the entrance.

It was originally discovered only because a standing-stone was investigated and found to be a tilted roofstone.
Four men and three women lifted the slab with wooden poles and ropes and replaced it in about an hour!

The area around Ballycastle is thickly studded with megalithic monuments and prehistoric field-walls.

Roofstones edge-on, seen from outside.

Looking along the gallery towards the court.

the above photos were taken by Jim Dempsey and Tom FourWinds

The gallery from above, photographed by Tom FourWinds.

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