Uragh Stone Circle: Magical Ireland

Accidentally discovering the Uragh Stone Circle was a magical experience that left me in awe.

The weather report last week indicated that Thursday would be dry. So on the spur of the moment, Gerhard and I decided to explore the Beara Peninsula for the first time. Gerhard did some research and decided he would like to start with a visit to Gleninchaquin Park, which is on the northern end of the Ring of Beara.

After leaving Kenmare, we headed southwest on R571. After a few kilometers, we turned left onto a narrow, one-lane road and entered the Gleann Inse Choinn (Glaninchiquin) Valley. The landscape here is spectacular. Several lakes nestle in the center of the valley, and mountains dominate the far horizon.

We were heading to the park when we suddenly passed a sign pointing visitors to some standing stones. I love visiting such sites, so we stopped and parked the car. Then we walked down a small road to a gate that led to a farmer’s field. (A sign with a box below it asked for a donation of 4 euros per person.)

We went through the gate and took a footpath that climbed up a small hill covered with wild orchids, foxgloves and bog cotton. (The ‘cotton’ on bog cotton plants looks to me like tufts of wool left by passing sheep, but it is actually the fruit of the plant.)

As we got to the top of the hill, the Uragh Stone Circle suddenly came into view, and it took our breath away.

The Uragh Stone Circle

The circle sits on a hill overlooking Loch Inchiquinn. In the far distance is a high, rocky hill with a waterfall running down its face. No signs of human habitation can be seen anywhere–only earth, water and sky. The effect is stunning.

The circle consists of five low megaliths plus one standing stone that is about 10 feet (3 meters) high.

According to a plaque near the stone:

“Stone circles consist of an uneven number of free-standing, placed stones varying in number from five to seventeen and enclose areas ranging from 2.5m to 17m in diameter. Characteristically, the stones are symmetrically arranged, with the two tallest stones marking the entrance in the northeast side and then reducing in height to the axial stone, which is usually the lowest stone and set directly opposite the entrance in the southwest arc of the circle.

“Stone circles were constructed as ritual and ceremonial sites during the Bronze Age (i.e. 3300 BCE to 1200 BCE). Studies have shown that a line through the entrance and across the axial stone is orientated on significant solar and lunar events and on some of the brighter stars. Over 100 examples are known in south-west Ireland.”

I touched several of the stones, and they were surprisingly warm. I also laid my hands on the standing stone, but did not hear a buzzing sound. Nor was I transported anywhere! (Fans of the Outlander books and TV series will understand what I am referring to…)

And for the umpteenth time, I wondered about the people who raised these stones. Who were they? What were their lives like? What role did such stones play in their lives? Why were the solstices, equinoxes and stars so important to them? At least in Ireland, little seems to be known about such people, and archeologists can only conjecture about the role that standing stones actually played in their lives.

Although the stones did not transport me to another time, the site itself certainly did! It is truly magical and well worth taking the time to explore and meditate upon.