The Lost Dolmen of Cahermacrusheen

Just off the boreen, in the townland of Cahermachrusheen, is the site of a dolmen, now completely disappeared. TJ Westropp* writes, in Archaeology of the Burren: Prehistoric Forts and Dolmens in North Clare:

“At the boundary wall, next Cahermaclanchy, is a heap of blocks which marks a dolmen. It fell, or, as some say, was ‘struck by a thunderbolt,’ after 1890; and was a cist of the usual type of four slabs and a cover, embedded in a cairn. The sides are each about 10 feet by 4 feet, and lie side by side; over the north one lies the cover, 10 feet by 8 feet 2 inches wide to the west, and 6 feet to the east, being a slab from 7 inches to 9 inches thick. The west end is 5 feet, and the east 4 feet, which shows that there was the usual eastward taper. It is, as usual, named ‘Labba ’iermuth,’ [6] and probably fell when the supporting cairn was removed.”

* That’s Westropp at the bottom of the painting, just below Pope Leo XIII

A year or so ago I went on an expedition with the kids to try and discover the site of the dolmen, using an old map. After much searching we found a mound with some old rubble – however, the nearby walls seem to be built with some very large stones.

2007 © Tim Bradford