Overview
Six portal tombs stand in a rough line at Malin More, strung across two fields over about 100 metres of pasture reclaimed from bog above Malin Bay – one of the largest concentrations of megalithic tombs in Ireland, and one almost nobody stops for. If you look at one, make it Chamber 1 at the western end: a portal tomb with a double capstone, its top slab 3.3 m across and over a metre thick, slipped from true but still sitting up there in a way that’s hard to quite credit.
The tombs are portal tombs – two tall uprights flanking an entrance, a backstone and a heavy capstone – set in two groups of three at uneven intervals just south of a narrow road. From the stones the view runs west and north out to sea, with the lower slopes of Leahan Mountain closing off the south. There may once have been a seventh: Thomas Fagan, who recorded the site in 1847, counted seven chambers, and one between numbers 5 and 6 seems to have been lost to road-building.
The Chambers
The six chambers are numbered for archaeological reference. Walking from west to east lets you read the site as a sequence, each tomb in a different state of preservation.
- Chamber 1 – the largest and most imposing. Its southern portal stone stands 2.4 m tall, while the northern one has reduced to a low stump. The massive capstone (3.3 m × 3 m, up to 1.2 m thick) has shifted but remains largely intact. Inside, the chamber measures 3.2 m long, narrowing toward the back, with small wedge stones and corbels from 19th-century stabilisation still visible.
- Chamber 2 – the smallest, with portal stones only 0.65 m apart. The western stone is a low stump, the eastern reaches 1.2 m, and a modest roofstone now rests on a bridging slab. Complete, it would have been just under 2 m long.
- Chamber 3 – unusually oriented to the north. The eastern portal stone stands 1.4 m high; the western has collapsed beneath a displaced roofstone (2.5 m × 1.4 m) that now slopes across the entrance.
- Chamber 4 – the least certain in design. Five uprights and a slightly displaced roofstone survive, suggesting a low chamber roughly 1.5 m wide, open to the east. A small stone mound to the south may be a later addition.
- Chamber 5 – heavily fragmented, its northern edge absorbed into a modern roadside wall. A large displaced roofstone (≈3.1 m × 2.2 m) leans against an upright slab, with two more standing stones and a grass-covered heap hinting at the layout.
- Chamber 6 – faces east, its main capstone (3.1 m × 2.5 m) fallen outward onto the portal stones. Upright, those stones would have reached 2.5 m and 2.6 m. A subsidiary roofstone and an 11 m × 5 m mound stretch along the southwest side.
History & Archaeology
The first detailed record of Malin More dates to 1847, when Thomas Fagan documented a long cairn about 100 yards by 20 yards, noting that much of the original earthwork had already been stripped for farming. Later, toward the end of the 19th century, the Board of Works carried out stabilisation, propping capstones and clearing debris.
Archaeologists read the varied orientations of the intact chambers – east-northeast, south-southeast, north and east – as evidence of deliberate planning rather than random placement, the alignments perhaps tracking seasonal sun paths or working off the surrounding topography. The site is protected as a Scheduled Monument under the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994. Such a tight grouping is rare in Ireland, and it sits within a dense prehistoric landscape around Glencolmcille that also holds the court cairns at Cloghanmore and Farranmacbride.
Practical Information
- Access & Parking – a small lay-by on the minor road provides free parking. The dolmens sit in open pastureland, a short walk across grass; follow the informal path between the fields to reach the western chambers first.
- Opening Hours & Fees – open access. It’s unfenced pasture with no ticket office, gate or set hours, and no fee.
- Facilities – none on site. The nearest toilets, café and supplies are in Glencolmcille, roughly 3 km east.
- Accessibility – uneven ground, grass slopes and scattered stones make the site unsuitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. Sturdy footwear with good grip is essential.
- Dogs – welcome on the pasture, but keep them on a lead near loose stones and livestock.
- Weather & Clothing – coastal winds and sudden rain are common; a windproof and waterproof layer is worth having, even in summer.
- Photography – low morning light catches the texture of the capstones and casts long shadows across the pasture; late afternoon brings warmer tones and fewer people.
Getting There & Nearby Sites
Malin More is in the townland of the same name, within the civil parish of Glencolmcille, County Donegal. From Donegal town, take the R263 west to Glencolmcille, then follow minor roads signposted toward Malin More. The route runs along the coastal valley with frequent pull-offs for photography.
Public transport: Bus Éireann route 242 connects Donegal town with Glencolmcille. The nearest stop is within walking distance, but services run infrequently, so check the current timetable before relying on a return journey.
Nearby attractions:
- Silver Strand, Malin Beg – a cliff-ringed beach reached by 174 steps, a couple of minutes’ drive on toward the coast.
- Glencolmcille – the village 3 km east, with its folk village, more court cairns and a turas pilgrimage route.
- Slieve League – among Europe’s highest sea cliffs, about 30–40 minutes away, with viewing platforms and trails.
- Leahan Mountain – the ridge above the tombs, a gentle climb for a view back over the whole complex and Malin Bay.
Give it at least 45 minutes to walk the full sequence and take in the coast, wear boots for the wet grass, and bring an offline map – signal drops in the valley, and nothing here is signposted.