Proleek Dolmen

Proleek Dolmen is one of Ireland's best known portal tombs, set on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth and often combined with Carlingford on a private day tour north of Dublin.

Proleek Dolmen is one of Ireland’s most dramatic portal tombs.

The portal tomb

The monument dates to the Neolithic (Stone Age), around 3000 BC. Portal tombs have two tall stones at the front (the portals), a smaller stone at the back, and a large capstone resting on all three. The name dolmen comes from a Breton word meaning stone table. At Proleek the two portal stones stand about 2 metres (6.5 feet) high, and the whole structure rises to about 3 metres (10 feet). The massive capstone weighs about 40 metric tons (44 tons).

Like other Irish portal tombs, Proleek was used for burial. Cremated remains were placed in the chamber, often with grave goods such as tools, beads and pottery. The portal faces northwest. Some researchers suggest an alignment toward Slieve Gullion and the setting sun at the summer solstice.

Location and visit

Proleek stands in the grounds of Ballymascanlon House Hotel, a short distance northeast of Dundalk, within the golf course landscape of the Cooley Peninsula. It is a National Monument in state guardianship. Access is on foot along firm paths from the hotel car park, typically a walk of a few hundred metres. Allow about half an hour at the monument itself, longer if you also visit the nearby wedge tomb and take photographs.

The wedge tomb

About 90 metres (100 yards) to the south-east lies a Bronze Age wedge tomb, sometimes called the Giant's Grave. Wedge tombs are later than portal tombs and belong to the end of the Neolithic and the start of the Bronze Age, when the first metal tools appear in Ireland. The two monuments sit close together: the portal tomb had already stood for many centuries when the wedge tomb was built beside it.

Legend and local tradition

Local legend links the stones with a battle between a Scottish giant, Para Buidhe Mor Mhac Seoidin (also remembered as Parrah Boug McShagean), and the Irish hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. Para is said to have challenged Fionn to combat, but Fionn poisoned the nearby river and Para drank from it. The Scottish giant was buried at the wedge tomb nearby. The dolmen is sometimes called the Giant's Load, from the story that the giant carried the capstone to Ireland from Scotland.

Another local tradition claims that if a visitor lands three stones atop the dolmen, they will be granted a wish, or will be married within the year. Oral accounts collected in the area also speak of fairy lore around the place, a reminder of how long these stones have held a place in local storytelling.

On a private itinerary, Proleek pairs well with medieval Carlingford and the Cooley Peninsula, or with a wider megalithic day focused on Newgrange and the Boyne Valley.

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) over the Proleek Dolmen.