Ireland’s ancient stone circles - Derreenataggart Stone Circle

Derreenataggart Stone Circle is located just outside Castletownbere, a beautiful fishing village on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork.

Stone circles usually consist of an uneven umber of free standing stones. The number of stones usually varies from 5 to 17 and the size of the circles ranges from 2.5m to 17m in diameter.

Characteristically, the stones are symmetrically arranged. The two tallest (portal) stones mark the entrance to the northeast side. The stones then reduce in height on either side of the circle. The axial stone, set directly opposite the entrance (= southwest arc) is usually the lowest stone in the circle.

Derreenataggart is a beautiful example of a recumbent stone circle. It is now incomplete and may originally have consisted of fifteen stones. 12 stones survived in the circle, 9 are still standing (with 1 of them broken), 3 have fallen and 3 are missing.

The stones have different heights, grading down from the portal stone (the one still standing is over 2m in height) to the recumbent stones.

Stone circles were constructed for rituals and ceremonies during the Bronze Age and are about 3 000 years old.

As you probably know, a line drawn from the entrance to the axial stone will orientate on significant solar and lunar events, and on some of the brighter stars out there.

Most of the Irish stone cycles are located in mid-Ulster and southwest Munster.

Where is it located: 2km outside Castletownbere, on the road to Teernahillane

Where to park: you can park in a lay by very close to the field where the stone circle is located in (2-3 cars)