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Ireland's largest stone circle. The Grange Stone Circle,
Lios na Grainsi in Irish and means Stones of the
Sun, was built around 2000BC by the people who brought
metal and beaker pottery to Ireland. 113 stones make up
the circle, which is surrounded by a manmade earth embankment.
It's 150 feet in diameter with stones as large as 13 feet
high and weighing 40 tons, as with Black Stone, Ronnach
Croim Duibh in Irish. This circle is aligned with
the rising sun at the Summer Solstice. The entrance stones
on the northeast side of the circle are matched by an
impressive pair of inverted slabs on the southwest side.
The slabs are aligned with the sunset of the Festival
of Samhain. The purpose of the circle is unknown, but
due to the amount of animal bones found on the site, it's
possible that animal sacrifice occurred here. Excavations
also revealed two hearths, some unburned human bones and
some bronze and pottery items.
Locals believe that the Fey return to Grange Stone Circle
after sunset so they won't trespass once the sun begins
to set.
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The remains of at least three crannogs, manmade
islands, are evident in the lake. As a result of
lowering the level of the lake in the 1800s, marshlands
were revealed so that now Bolin Island appears to
be part of the mainland.
Stone age houses were unearthed during excavations
in the 1930s, including the foundations of a house
known as The Spectacles. John Hunt is credited with
reconstructing the first Neolithic house, based
on excavations at Lough Gur that he was involved
in. This house was a prototype that inspired the
later construction of a similar house at Hunts'
experimental project at ,
County Clare.
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Click here to enlarge |
The Heritage Centre here was designed to mimic original
houses that would have been found around the lake. Indeed,
the floor plans of two of the excavated Stone Age houses
were used as a guide when architects first drew up the
plans for the center. Exhibits tell the story of pre-Celtic
Ireland, dating back to 3000BC by the use of exhibit models,
interpretive panels and the audio/visual theater.
Near the entrance to the site is Bourchier's Castle,
named after Sir George Bourchier who was the son of the
second Earl of Bath. At the far end of the lake is Black
Castle. These are the ruins of a Norman keep built in
the 16th century to be used during the Desmond Rebellions.
Due to the shape of the lake, Black Castle can be walked
to via a path from the car park.
Make a day of it. Visit Lough Gur and follow up by driving
up to Limerick City to see some of the artifacts in the
.
Make a weekend of it by including ,
about 30 minutes north of Limerick City.
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LImited access around park on unpaved paths