Lough Gur is a mystical lake in County Limerick, reported by locals to hide a magical realm beneath its glistening surface. Lough Gur may not feature on most tourist’s lists of places to see when visiting the Emerald Isle, but believe it or not, it is one of Ireland’s most important historical sites.
Lough Gur boasts rich evidence of ancient Irish life, Neolithic dwellings, man made islands (crannógs), pillar stones, ruined castles, a large Bronze Age stone circle, and a wedge tomb.
Visiting Lough Gur is always on my “to do” list when I spend time in Ireland. One of my favorite childhood haunts, it lies less than twenty miles from our family farm. Here my imagination runs wild. I love to recount old legends to my children. Faeries, enchantresses and wild knights inhabit these shores and waters.
Today I thought I would finally share some of last summer’s photos of this glorious spot.
Lough Gur’s current shape is very different to its circular outline of ancient times. Today, meandering shores kiss the feet of surrounding hills. Before the 1840’s the lake’s water levels rose much higher.
The Hill of Knockadoon lies on its eastern side, but once formed a large island in the middle of the lough. Drainage schemes in the 1840’s lowered lake waters, revealing many of its archaeological treasures.
The Interpretative Center, built in a thatched replica of a Neolithic hut, offers audiovisual overviews of the area, bringing to life over 6,000 years of archaeology and history.
“The Giants Grave” is a wedge shaped tomb dating back to around 2,500 B.C..
Grange Stone Circle is composed of 113 standing stones. Dating back to 2,200 B.C., it is the largest stone circle in Ireland.
On the summit of the surrounding hill, Knockfennel, there is a ring-cairn of stones. Upon archaeological excavation pockets of burnt human bones were found. Yikes!!!! Our ancient ancestors were a crazy bunch.
Over one thousand years ago the local inhabitants built Bolin island as a defense against their enemies. This artificial island is called a ‘crannóg’, from “crann” the Irish word for tree. When under attack the farmers of Lough Gur retreated to their island by an underwater causeway, lifting the bridge to deny admission to their attackers.
During excavation of one of Lough Gur’s ring forts a hoard of Danish silver was discovered suggesting the presence of Vikings.
Bouchier’s Castle is a typical tower house with defensive balconies and a causeway guarding its approach. It is currently listed for restoration, so hopefully government budgets will soon allow work to begin.
Stories of a mystical past abound. One folk tale of the lake recounts the enchanted fate of Gerald Fitzgerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond (1338 to 1398), a Chief Justice of Ireland and a poet in both Irish and French. Supposedly he never died, but now lives beneath the waters.
Every seven years this lost Fitzgerald emerges from the lake, riding his white steed, shod with glistening silver shoes. He gallops around the shore and across the lake before returning to his watery home. The legend foretells he will regain his mortal form when he finally wears away his horse’s silver shoes. If I ever bump into him, I must remind him to stick to the hard shores for his midnight rides. He’ll never wear out those shoes riding across the water. When he returns for good he will restore the glory of the Desmonds.
Another famous Fitzgerald with connections to this area is Honey Fitz, Mayor of Boston and grandfather of the 35th President of the United States. The family of John Francis Fitzgerald (1863 – 1950) emigrated to Boston from this area. He was known as “Honey Fitz” because of his beautiful singing voice.
Many other folk tales exist recounting tales of the goddess Áine known to sit by the lake combing her golden tresses.
I found a wonderful website, Voices From The Dawn, which dedicates a full post to the history and folklore of Lough Gur. Here you will find short videos of the late Tom McNamera, the storyteller of Lough Gur, recounting the mythical tales of these waters.
For anyone interested in visiting this beautiful lake, the Lough Gur website includes plenty of helpful and informative information.
If you’re the type of tourist who enjoys getting off the beaten path and visiting the treasures of hidden Ireland, then a trip to Lough Gur should feature on your list of places to see.
Wishing visitors to Ireland, this summer and always, happy, educational and exciting adventures.
Slán agus beannacht leat!
(Goodbye and blessings)
Irish American Mom
Lovely blog about a truly wonderful spot! Totally recommended when you get to visit Ireland!
I agree whole heartedly – a quiet, magical, out-of-the-way place.
All the best,
Mairead
This sounds like a wonderful place to visit!! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures (and information too)!
Aimee – it may not feature on most tourists’ list of places to see, but I think it is a truly magical spot.
Best wishes,
Mairead
Our first stop on our first trip to Eire was the Grange Stone Circle at Lough Gur. We were greeted by the dairy farmer from across the lane whose cows were grazing there. “Hello, my name’s Tim Casey. Are ye lost? Or are ye wantin’ to be here?” What a wonderful way to begin our visit. Lough Gur is beautiful, & chock full of prehistoric sites. One of the quietest places I’ve ever visited. The only sounds were of nature, the rustling of leaves on the trees, the lowing of the cows, the call & songs of the dozens of bird species that call it home. Thanks Mairead for your wonderful article on this magical place.
Debra – I love the greeting and warm welcome you received from the local farmer. So nice to hear you too experienced the quiet and peace of Lough Gur.
All the best,
Mairead
Sounds like my kind of place!I have family history connecting to that site. I plan on visiting for the for the first time this summer. I can’t wait! Quiet out of the way magical places are my favorite!
Hi Maggie – Lough Gur is a very special place – there is a mystical feeling all around the lake and the stone circle nearby is fascinating. I hope you get to visit there this summer. Have a wonderful trip to Ireland – I hope you will make many wonderful magical memories during your vacation.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Mairead, I guess you know you’re making me want to go to Ireland! 🙂 I would love to see a castle – among other things, of course 🙂
Cheryl – there are plenty of castles to see in Ireland. Some are in ruins, some are tourist attractions and some are beautiful hotels. I hope you make it to Ireland someday.
All the best,
Mairead
Hi Mairead, Thanks for the picts and education about Lough Gur, seems like a nice place to spend some time and explore.
Cheers,
Brian.
Brian – It’s always nice to introduce others to Ireland’s secret treasures – those quiet, uncrowded places, off the beaten track.
All the best,
Mairead
Ireland is at the top of my travel wish list, and this looks like a wonderful place to visit! Maybe by the time I have the money to go, the government will have started renovating the castle. 😉
Serena = It will be lovely when the castle is renovated. However, at the rate the Irish government is cutting back, I think you’ll have a far better chance of saving your air fare before they’ll have acquired the necessary funds to restore the castle. But don’t worry, there are lots of beautiful old castles to visit in Ireland.
Best wishes,
Mairead
Perhaps more apt, the Hannons ( O’h-Annon) were from that area too. Honey Fitz’s wife and cousin. 🙂
My issue with the treatment of such sites comes from the real lack of a connected theme. It would be so easy to layer the sites so you were never more than 8 miles from the next one. Now, the nearest relatively well known place would be the Rock of Cashel, 40 mile in one direction. John’s Castle/Bunratty in Limerick-ish 30 miles north. Blarney south 45 mile. And Killarney, 60 miles west.
And lets face it, Lough Gur isn’t exactly on the tip of anyones tongue .
Oh, I meant to say the current circle in Grange is the vastly ‘smaller’ of the circles in that spot. If you view it in the OSI mapviwer for the 1840 survey you’ll see what I mean.
This might work, but I doubt it http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,563300,640521,6,8
Thanks so much for this map link – very interesting. I’ll have to study it further.
Mairead
Hmm, it seems to have worked. If you switch between the Historic 6″ and the Historic 25″ you’ll see what I’m on about. The current circle is the south of the two larger ones sitting in the 6.5 acre field. I’ve a feeling the stones from the big one were moved sometime between the surveying of the two maps 1840-1906. Here are some photos I took a few years ago http://roaring40.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/lough-gur-a-prehistoric-landscape/
The last one is of the circle in the 17 acre field
Vince – The stones of the larger circles were probably moved. It’s unfortunate how many ancient monuments have been destroyed over the years. I know the round tower in Ardpatrick is only a base shell nowadays. All of the toppled original stones were taken over the years.
Your pictures of Lough Gur are spectacular. You too visited on a lovely sunny day.
All the best,
Mairéad
Vincent – What a wonderful idea. I often think it would be difficult for a tourist to stay for a whole week in one place in Ireland. The distances between attractions would grow longer and longer with each passing day. I always like to look at a place to stay on holidays as a base camp. I love when I can plan day trips all around me, somewhat in a wheel and spoke pattern, yet always returning to my base each night.
There are many places like Lough Gur around the country -these out-of-the-way treasures are barely visited by tourists.
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Mairead
It’s the same here in East Tipperary. We have Ahenny and the oldest High Crosses. The a series of monastic sites between 7th and 13th centuries, but because there is no natural border conforming to the current political boundaries nothing is connected. Plus, local politics is entirely driven by narrow personal imperatives and to succeed in forming such plans that cross outside would be extremely difficult. So for Lough Gur to really work would require a selflessness I simply cannot realistically envisage. It’s nice to believe it might though.
Vincent – A cooperative strategic plan for Irish tourism is what’s needed and if I could vote for someone to coordinate it’s development – my vote would be for you.
Best wishes,
Mairéad.
Hello ! My name is Kevin Bolin and my DNA shows that I am mostly of Irish descent… (which I’m proud of). Can you tell me where the name of Bolin Island comes from ? My wife and I are planning a trip to Ireland and that is one of our planned destinations. Thank you so much for taking time to read my message.
Hi Kevin – It’s lovely to hear you were able to confirm your Irish ancestry through DNA testing. Bolin Island at Lough Gur is a small island at the edge of the lake on which a crannóg existed many years ago. A crannóg (pronounced kran-owe-gh) is a an ancient fortified dwelling that was built with water surrounding it for safety and defense. I’m not certain of the meaning of Bolin. It could be related to cows since bó is the Irish word for cow. The ending linn could be associated with the lake or a pool. The name Dublin comes from Dubh Linn which means Black Pool. My guess, and it is a guess, is that Bolin may mean cow pool.
I hope you have a wonderful trip to Ireland and thanks so much for stopping by to check out my blog.
All the best,
Mairéad