The main focus of ShadowsandStone.com will continue to be the ancient sites of Ireland, of which hundreds are known to exist in varying degrees of decay.

There are two objectives I try to incorporate into each gallery for each site, firstly some general views of the site with the aim of being the next best thing to actually being there yourself. The second objective is to then try and capture some of the mood or atmosphere that changes so much from place to place and at different times of year or day. The best photos naturally come from the 'edge', the edge between night and day, winter and spring, summer and autumn. At these times pre-historic sites take on a new drama and meaning, hopefully this is what I try and translate into some of the more 'other-worldly' images of shapes and changing light.


New sites are added often though I continue to revisit many sites at different times of day/year to try and capture a little part of the enigma that surrounds these ancient stone monuments.

Those unfamiliar with the distinct types of Irish stone age monuments may well recongise a few of the monuments such as Poulnabrone Dolmen (left), a fine example of an Irish Portal Tomb, or perhaps Newgrange and the other famous Boyne Valley sites. But with a good map and a pair of tough boots you could find many strange, intruiging and spectacular sculptures of stone in almost any corner of Ireland.

Click here to explore more of Irelands Dolmens


Click here to open a map of Ireland marked with the locations of dolmens on this site.

Apart from Poulnabrone Dolmen above, the other neolithic or late stone age monument that most people can name is of course Newgrange, the famous passage grave in the Boyne Valley which features the celebrated 'roof box' which allows the Winter Solstice sunrise to light up the inner chamber for around 17 days over the solstice period. It also has a large collection of Neolithic art inscribed on the stones of the chambers and passage way as well as the kerb stones that surround the mound.

Newgrange is deservedly world famous and is also a World Heritage site but many other passage tomb complexes exist across Ireland. From the western peninsula of Sligo to the east coast a wide band of tomb development moved across the country over 5,000 years ago starting with the simple boulder circles and chambers of Carrowmore, the 'artificial caves' of Carrowkeel, the Loughcrew complex (right)which sees an explosion of magnificent stone age art and what may have been the final pinnacle of the art at the Boyne Valley sites of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.

Click here to go to the Passage Tomb page

When people think of stone circles, many think of Stonehenge in England. But while Stonehenge is impressive it is also unique and very different from regular stone circles which are found across Ireland and Great Britain. Irish stone circles are found all over the country but are particularly common around the Cork/Kerry south west corner of the Island. Drombohilly stone circle in Kerry (left) is an excellent example of an Irish stone circle dating from the very late neolithoic/early bronze age, but stone circles also changed form with the passing centuries and territories leaving us with large multiple stone circles in the North of the country, tiny five stone circles in the south west and everything in between.

Click here to see more Stone Circles

Possibly the most ancient beginnings of the stone age tomb building tradition can be seen in Irelands court tombs, such as Clontygora (right) which sits on a hill side just north of the border in County Armagh. These 'tombs' are so-called after the two arms that reach out in front of the tomb entrance, enclosing a 'court' where it is believed ritual practices centred around a 'cult of the dead' were performed. Many are almost totally destroyed but fine exaples such as Clontygora, Creevykeel in Sligo and Annaghmare, also in Armagh, are preserved just enough to allow us appreciate these mysterious stone works.

To see more Court Tombs, click here

Wedge Tombs such as found at Ballyganner South in the Burren Co. Clare (left) are generally believed to belong to a bronze age tradition of burial. The tombs are named after their wedge shape plan, though they too are found in many forms from quite massive to tiny box chambers. The range of 'grave goods' found inside the few that have been excavated have categorised these as a development after the end of the stone age. The stones that make up the chambers are almost entirely undecorated though most were believed to have been covered in a mound of stones or 'cairn'. As with a lot of these ancient monuments, the cairns have been mostly robbed out to build walls and roads through the millenia.

See more Wedge Tomb galleries here

On almost any journey through Ireland the observant traveller should encounter at least one or two standing stones. These enigmatic and often massive curiosities are found across the country, sometimes in neat rows of three or more or as strange arrangements such as at Lettergorman, County Cork (right) but mostly as solitary punctuations in the landscape. Their meaning or purpose has been lost over the thousands of years since they were erected but they still remain permanent landmarks in the countryside, as was surely their most important function.

There are more Standing Stones in the Stone Circles gallery, here

Click here to go back to the main page