Ráith Gráinne, Tara

Description

SMR No.: ME031-033041-

Monument Type: Barrow - ring-barrow

Ráith Gráinne is named after the legendary princess Gráinne, who fled from Tara and from Fionn mac Cumhaill with her lover Diarmait úa Duibhne. It is a barrow (about 60m in diameter) consisting of a central mound surrounded by a ditch and external bank. In the centre are the remains of what may be another, small barrow. By combining geophysical and topographic data it has been possible to demonstrate that the slight prominence in the north-eastern side is actually the central burial mound of an earlier ring-barrow that was incorporated into Ráith Gráinne. It too encompasses a small barrow into its north-eastern quadrant suggesting that this was an accepted custom at the time.

To the northeast of Ráith Gráinne are the remains of up to four extremely low-profile sites which can be seen when the sun is low on the western horizon.