Kilclooney More (, (1994). 071712066X, Gill & Macmillan. 071712066X
Megalithic tombs
Kilclooney More belongs to the low-lying land in the west of County Donegal that is prominent for its concentration of
court tomb and
. In the
Neolithic this land was fertile due to a warmer and drier climate, supporting farming communities who crafted ceramics and built tombs which are still described as ‘magnificent’.
Portal tomb Dg. 68
The smaller portal tomb of Kilclooney More is located west of the R261, in a shallow basin north of the Abberachrin River. The eastern portal stone is missing but otherwise the tomb is well preserved. The chamber is comparatively small, measuring 1.45m × 1.2m, pointed in SSE direction. It is referred to as by Eamon Cody.
(1983). 095084070X, Donegal County Council. 095084070X
Eamon Cody (2025). 075571248X, Stationery Office. 075571248X
Court tomb Dg. 69
The court tomb is located north of the portal tomb and likewise west of the R261 on flat moorland above the basin on a small hill that provides a commanding outlook in all directions. The gallery of the monument has a length of c. 6m and a width of 2.0 to 2.5m with three
on each side. There are no surviving traces of a segmentation into chambers but de Valera assumes that the tomb consisted of two chambers. A heavy
lintel that still resides on the side stones appears to be displaced and reversed in consideration of an 18th-century drawing that shows the lintel above the front of the gallery. Another lintel appears to be fallen and rests in front.
[entry 15 on p. 107: ] (1983). 095084070X, Donegal County Council. 095084070X
Eamon Cody (2025). 075571248X, Stationery Office. 075571248X
Portal tomb Dg. 70
East of the R261 on rough moorland is the larger portal tomb with two chambers, 9m apart, and a modern field wall in-between. The north-eastern chamber has a roof stone with a length of 4.2m which rests on two portal stones, both of 1.8m height, and a very small pad-stone which in turn rests on the backstone of 1.3m height. The smaller, south-western chamber has portal stones of 1m height. The roof stone with a length of 1.9m is partly dislodged.
Eamon Cody (2025). 075571248X, Stationery Office. 075571248X
The
sill stone between the portal stones has a rectangular piece missing, a feature that is shared with the portal tombs of Poulnabrone, Ballybrittas, and Tawnatruffaun. Most of the stones are from grey granite outcrops in close vicinity to the tomb. The backstone in red Ardara granite stands in a stark contrast to the overall grey, it originates possibly from a cliffy
extrusive rock 200m south of the tomb.
The poorly-preserved cairn has a long shape with an NNE alignment that extends over 25m. The chambers are in the middle of the cairn with the north-eastern chamber 5m inside its northern end. The smaller chamber faces NNE, the larger chamber NE.[ The two portal tombs are listed as numbers 15 and 16 on p. 94. Ó Nualláin describes the smaller chamber to be aligned in NNW direction which appears to be wrong. Cody's survey gives an NNE alignment and provides a comparative chart with the alignments of all portal tombs in County Donegal in Fig. 94.] Like almost all coastal portal tombs in Ireland it is oriented away from the sea with the backstone facing the coast.
Multiple sherds of Neolithic pottery, all belonging to one quartz-tempered vessel with fine textures, were found in the larger chamber and are now in the possession of the National Museum of Ireland.[Items 64–66 at p. 18 in: ][Item 9 at p. 138 in: ][p. 319 in: ] Dating of Irish portal tombs is difficult as no radiocarbon dates are available. However, the sherds are assumed to belong to the Lyles Hill series of pottery which can be approximately dated as this kind of pottery has been found close to fireplaces at other sites. In consideration of this context, Arthur ApSimon estimates that portal tombs like those of Kilclooney More belong to a period from 5000 to 4800 Before Present, i.e. from ca. 3780 to ca. 3550 Anno Domini, which falls into the early Neolithic period.
External links
