This second edition of the Rathcroghan Guidebook contains updated and new imagery and text alongside entries on every aspect of Rathcroghan, from its archaeological and historical landscapes, through to its literary and mythological associations. This publication is the quintessential user’s guide to this fascinating archaeological landscape. Drawing upon historical, literary and cutting-edge archaeological research, Rathcroghan: The Guidebook is designed to bring the reader on a journey through time at Rathcroghan, from the first settlers to this broad limestone plain in the Neolithic period, through to the political mechanics of late medieval Machaire Connacht.
Thereafter, you will be taken on a journey of a different kind. You will see how our ancestors wove a tapestry of literature on top of this canvas of Rathcroghan, connecting physical landmarks and ancestor burials with the intoxicating narrative of Queen Medb of Connacht and the Ulster Cycle of Tales, filled with war and strife, jealousy and intrigue, gods and mere mortals.
This driving tour has been designed for the visitor to Rathcroghan to be able to experience a selection of the great number of monuments on the landscape here in your own time and at your own pace. This unique environment has been interacted with for over 6,000 years, beginning in the Neolithic, and continuing to be used in different forms up until the late medieval period at least.
The monuments here fall into a range of categories, from burial and funerary monuments, to settlement sites and field boundaries. Aside from these, monuments such as Rathcroghan Mound and the cave of Oweynagat give us an insight into the minds of the people who constructed and used these monuments.
Viewing this archaeological landscape in association with the huge corpus of medieval Irish literature that refers to Cruachan Aí and, in particular, the cast of characters that we encounter in the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) allows us to gain an understanding of the lives and beliefs of the Iron Age and early historic Irish.
Produced by Rathcroghan Visitor Centre in collaboration with Prints of Ireland, this unique bespoke print (30 x 42cm), depicts Roscommon through a range of historical and cultural landmarks situated throughout the county.
The map includes representations of – the Arigna Mines, Lough Key, Boyle Abbey, Elphin Windmill, Dr. Douglas Hyde, a Gallowglass Warrior, Rathcroghan Royal Site, Strokestown Park House, the Coggalbeg Hoard, Clonalis House, Ballintober Castle, Roscommon Castle, the Castlestrange Stone, the Claypipe Centre – Knockcroghery, Rindoon Castle, Ballyforan Bridge, Meehambee Portal Tomb, the Knock Gold Torcs and Shannonbridge, Co. Roscommon.
(Please note that all prints are supplied unframed)
Produced by Rathcroghan Visitor Centre in collaboration with Prints of Ireland, this unique bespoke print (30 x 42cm), depicts the Cave of Oweynagat – Uaimh na gCat, Ireland’s Otherworldly entrance in Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon.
(Please note that all prints are supplied unframed)
Produced by Rathcroghan Visitor Centre in collaboration with Prints of Ireland, this unique bespoke print (30 x 42cm), depicts the Royal Site of Rathcroghan through representations of Rathcroghan Mound, King Dathí’s Stone and the mythical Battle of the Bulls, Finnbennach and Donn Cuailnge at Rathnadarve – Ráth na dTarbh.
Bespoke branded keyring referencing the Cave of Oweynagat, the home of the Irish Battle Goddess, the Mórrígán depicted here in the form of a hooded crow.
Bespoke branded magnet referencing the Cave of Oweynagat, the home of the Irish Battle Goddess, the Mórrígán depicted here in the form of a hooded crow.
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