The Neolithic Cairn of Queen Maeve On Knocknarea

The Cairn of Queen Maeve, located atop Knocknarea Mountain in County Sligo, is a massive Neolithic stone cairn believed to be the burial site of the legendary Queen Maeve of Connacht.

The cairn, standing about 10 meters high and 55 meters in diameter, is one of Ireland's largest and most striking ancient monuments.

With a flat-top Maeve's Cairn measures 55m in diameter and 10m high. It is one of Ireland’s finest examples of ancient Cairn's.

When was Maeve's Cairn Built?

Maeve's Cairn was likely built during the Neolithic period in Ireland, between 3500 - 3200 BC. This makes it over 5,000 years old, existing with other significant megalithic structures in Ireland, such as Newgrange Passage Tomb and the Boyne Valley tombs. While it is associated with the legendary Queen Maeve in Irish mythology, the cairn predates her by thousands of years.

The cairn, standing about 10 meters high and 55 meters in diameter, is one of Ireland's largest and most striking ancient monuments. Unlike many megalithic tombs, the cairn remains unopened, preserving its mystery. It consists of thousands of stones, creating a dramatic silhouette visible from miles around.

A Swedish archaeologist by the name of Dr. Stefan Bergh surveyed all the monuments and published a book with his findings. He found a small platform 6 meters wide and 30cm high that ran around the cairn with a similar ring around the small satellite to the north of the Cairn. Bergh had also found approx. 27 hut sites on the summit and south shoulder of Knocknarea. He also found 4 kilometers of Neolithic stonewalls that run along the south and east edges of the summit.

Folklore about Maeve's Cairn

Local folklore says the Iron Age Queen of Connaught, Meave, is buried here. Queen Meave is known in Irish legends for Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) when she invaded Ulster to steal a stud bull named Donn Cuailnge. Folklore says she is buried in the Cairn wearing her full body Armour, in a standing position facing her enemies in Ulster. Standing in front of the Cairn, facing north, you can see the province of Ulster far in the distance.

Folklore also mentions that its bad luck to remove a stone from the Cairn but good luck to take a stone up the hill and place it on the Cairn. A reason why this Cairn has probably stood for so long but in more recent times its now degrading due to tourists climbing over the top of Cairn.

Finding Maeve's Cairn

Maeve's Cairn can be seen for miles as it sits on top of Knocknarea mountain. It’s easy to find but the climb to the summit is not for the faint-hearted.

How to get to Knocknarea

Getting there: From Sligo town center go towards Strandhill Road and onto the R292. Keep on this road until you see the road signs for Maeve's Cairn. It’s very well signposted and easy to find from here.

There is a small car park that is safe to park your vehicle. From the car park, there is a small path that takes leads you up to the summit.

Note: The path is not suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs or prams. It’s a very rough path so walking shoes are highly recommended. The climb to the summit is not easy and not recommended for elderly people or anyone with walking difficulties.

We advise to take water but also to take a lot of rests on the climb up, enjoy the views as you rest.

The path leading down from Knocknarea mountain is very steep with lots of stones, it can be very easy to fall and cause injury so be careful.

It should take approx 45 – 50 minutes to climb at an easy pace.