Overview
More than 80 recorded monuments sit within eight square kilometres of Magh Slécht, and you could drive through the middle of it without spotting one. That is the honest starting point: this is one of the densest prehistoric landscapes in Ireland, but almost everything is unmarked, standing in working fields, and the only feature you will reliably find from the car is a roadside replica of the Killycluggin Stone at Killycluggin. Come with a detailed map, or come to walk rather than to tick off sights.
Magh Slécht (pronounced Moy Shlokht, sometimes Anglicised as Moyslaught) covers roughly three square miles in the south-eastern parish of Templeport, County Cavan. Templeport Lough closes it off to the south, the slopes of Slieve Rushen to the north, the Shannon–Erne Waterway to the east and the River Blackwater to the west, so it reads as a distinct basin. It is really a set of gentle drumlin hills rather than a flat expanse, but seen from the surrounding peaks it takes on the look of a true plain. The name translates as ‘the plain of prostrations’.
Myth and ritual
Before its current name the area was Magh Senaig (‘plain of the hill-slope’), and it appears in early Irish place-lore as a route taken by mythological figures heading north from the Hill of Tara. By 1911 BC, under the Firbolg High-King Fodbgen, the plain is said to have become the national centre for the cult of Crom Cruach, a pre-Christian deity tied to fertility and harvest. Medieval texts describe a great stone idol at Killycluggin, ringed by twelve lesser statues, with worshippers crawling on their knees, foreheads to the earth, towards the central altar during the Samhain rituals.
The story carries into the early medieval period. In the 5th century, St Patrick is said to have confronted the cult, striking the idol with his crozier so that it fell face-down with its head pointing towards Tara while the twelve surrounding stones sank into the ground; a Christian church was then founded at the site under St Banban the Wise.
Magh Slécht also features heavily in the early annals and genealogies. It was the territory of the Masraige tribe, later taken by the Uí Briúin in the 8th century. It saw the death of High King Tigernmas and 4,000 followers during a plague in 1413 BC, the murder of the Ulster hero Conall Gulban in 464 AD, and the Battle of Magh Slecht in 80 AD. The plain stayed part of Connacht until the late 16th century, when the English Crown shifted it administratively to Ulster. The McGovern clan, who trace their line to the Uí Briúin, remain the commonest surname in the townlands around it.
The monument trail
The ground has been continuously occupied since at least 4000 BC, and the 80-odd monuments run right through that span, from the Neolithic to the medieval. There is no single entrance or fenced path; the sites are woven into the farmland, visible from field boundaries, minor roads and footpaths.
The main features:
- Megalithic tombs and ring barrows: nine Neolithic tombs and seven Bronze Age burial mounds across the drumlins.
- Stone circles and standing stones: three stone circles and nine standing stones, including the site traditionally linked to Tigernmas’s grave.
- Crannogs and early settlements: six lake dwellings and over 30 ráths or souterrains, the mark of continuous habitation.
- Early Christian sites: three church ruins, two holy wells – among them Tobar Padraig (St Patrick’s Well) near Killycluggin – and two bullaun stones.
The original Crom Cruach idol no longer stands in the field, but the surviving fragment, the Killycluggin Stone, a cone-shaped pillar carved with La Tène Iron Age designs, is now in the Cavan County Museum; a replica marks the spot by the roadside. On the ground, the landscape itself works as a guide: the sheltered basin set against the rough peaks of Slieve Rushen gives the vantage points that explain why ancient communities settled on this exact spot.
Practical information
- Access and parking: this is a rural landscape, not a formal park. Access is by local roads skirting Templeport Lough and the Shannon–Erne Waterway; use the marked lay-bys and farm gates, and leave gates as you find them.
- When to visit: open year-round. Spring and early autumn give the most comfortable walking and softer light; winter brings a stark quality to the stones and tombs.
- What to bring: sturdy boots, a waterproof, a detailed Ordnance Survey map or offline GPS and plenty of water, as reception can be patchy across the drumlins.
- Etiquette: this is active farmland. Stay on public footpaths, respect field boundaries and keep off private land. There are no facilities or toilets on site.
- Admission: free, no booking.
Nearby
- Cavan County Museum – in Ballyjamesduff, home to the original Killycluggin Stone and the context for the whole region.
- Cavan Burren Park – a short drive away, with a guided dolmen trail, wedge tombs and good interpretive signage.
- Templeport Lough and St Mogue’s Island – the lake on the southern edge holds a small island with an early medieval church ruin, tied by tradition to St Mogue, said to have been born in the parish.
- Slieve Rushen – the mountain on the northern boundary, with wide views over the basin and the Shannon–Erne Waterway.
Reading Magh Slécht takes a willingness to slow down. The nearest fuel, cafés and refreshments are in Templeport and Bawnboy, which make a good base for a full day among the stones.