Overview
One tall slab is nearly all that is left of Slievenaglasha. This wedge tomb on a limestone ridge at the western edge of the Burren, County Clare, lost its opposite wall and its capstone long ago, some of the damage recorded in an incident in 1894. What stands today is a single wall slab about 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) long on the north-west side, a dark line against the wind-scoured karst. It went up in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, around 2500–2000 BC, a communal burial chamber for the herders who worked these uplands. Known also as Carraig na Glaise, or Dermot and Grania’s Bed, it sits 2.7 km south-east of the village of Carran, in the townland of Slievenaglasha, parish of Kilnaboy.
Be honest with yourself before you set out: this is a ruin for people who like ruins. If you want a wedge tomb that still reads as one at a glance, Poulnabrone is the easier trip. What Slievenaglasha has instead is its setting and its story.
History and archaeological context
Wedge tombs are the last phase of megalithic tomb-building in Ireland. Unlike the earlier passage and court tombs, they are broader and higher at the western entrance and taper towards the rear, roofed with large slabs laid straight onto the side walls. Slievenaglasha follows that pattern, and Clare holds an exceptional concentration of them, with more than thirty sites recorded across the county. The hilltop position and westward orientation match the ritual habits of the period, tombs set to look out over the ground they watched. It is protected as a National Monument in State care (Reference No. 270, listed in the national database as CL010-06423-).
The legend of Glas Gaibhne
In Irish tradition an old monument rarely stands without a story, and Slievenaglasha carries one of the Burren’s most durable: the sea-green cow, Glas Gaibhne. In the version first recorded by John O’Donovan in 1839, the cow belonged to a smith named Lon Mac Liomtha, a grotesque but gifted metalworker said to have three hands and a single leg. The cow was miraculously fertile, and her milk was believed to feed the rivers running off the mountain; the “source of the seven streams” lies just to the south-west of the tomb.
The tale turns when a cunning hag tricks Lon by swapping the milk pail for a sieve. The milk pours through the holes and splits into the seven rivulets that became the Seacht Srutha na Taosca, the Seven Streams of Teeskagh. Grieved or angered by the waste, the cow gives no more milk and flees the district. Local tradition holds that the wedge tomb was where the smith once kept his herd.
Scholars tend to read the story as more than a fireside tale. A bountiful cow ruined by a sieve, paired with a three-handed industrial smith, is widely taken as an allegory for the strains of early historic Ireland: as iron-working grew, the appetite for charcoal thinned the woods, loosened the Burren’s thin soil and shifted its water. The legend keeps a memory of that change, dressed in the familiar language of cattle, craft and myth.
Visiting and access
Reaching the tomb means a short, stiff walk over open limestone. Most visitors park in Carran, by the village shop, where there are also public toilets; from there a footpath climbs gently to the site, or you can approach from a minor road off the R476. Either way it is a short haul over exposed pavement, with wide views across the Burren’s distinctive terraces as you gain height.
The ground is uneven bare limestone and turns slick in the wet, so sturdy, waterproof footwear earns its place. There are no facilities at the tomb, which is one more reason to stop in Carran for a coffee or supplies. The site is free to visit and open year-round, though in winter it is worth allowing extra time for the climb and checking the forecast first.
Walking and nearby attractions
Slievenaglasha sits in a thick web of archaeological and natural sites, which makes it a good hook for a wider day in west Clare. The hilltop trail links loosely to routes on the Burren Way, and the ground around it is scattered with ringforts, souterrains and other tombs. Just 1.3 km to the west is Cahercommaun, a large stone fort once nicknamed County Clare’s first industrial estate, which local tradition ties to the metalworking of the Glas Gaibhne story.
If you want to build out the day, a few sites are within easy reach:
- Aillwee Cave – A limestone show cave with a guided tour and a birds of prey centre.
- Corcomroe Abbey – A Cistercian abbey in a quiet valley, a short drive away and free to walk into.
- Burren Visitor Centre – In nearby Kilfenora, the place to pick up maps and background on local trails.
- Cliffs of Moher – Ireland’s best-known coastal sight, about 40 minutes’ drive west.
Dogs are welcome on the trail but should be kept on a lead near the grazed farmland and any ground-nesting birds. Spring is the season to time it for, when the Burren’s celebrated wildflowers come up between the limestone slabs.
Practical information
Accessibility – A moderate climb over uneven limestone. Manageable for most people with reasonable mobility, but not for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
Opening hours – Open year-round, no formal hours or ticketing.
Entry – Free.
Facilities – None on site. Use the public toilets and village shop in Carran.
Coordinates – 53.017331°N, 9.051686°W
National Monument Reference – 270
Go in the early morning, when low light rakes across the pavement and picks the slab out against the sky, and leave time to wander the ringforts and streams around it before dropping back to Carran.