Megalithic tomb - court tomb, Leitir, Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal
Standing in the pasture of a broad ridge 2.3km east of Kilmacrenan village, this remarkable court tomb commands sweeping views across the Donegal landscape, with Lough Swilly visible some 14km to the east and Lough Fern 2.8km northward.
Megalithic tomb - court tomb, Leitir, Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal
The monument consists of an impressive trapezoidal cairn stretching 40 metres in length, aligned roughly northeast to southwest. At its broader eastern end, visitors can explore a large U-shaped court, 9.5 metres long and 7 metres wide, which leads into the main gallery chamber. The court’s arms are defined by substantial stones, including entrance jambs that stand over a metre high, with several fallen slabs scattered throughout that hint at the structure’s original grandeur.
The main gallery extends approximately 5 metres from the court entrance, narrowing from 2.75 metres wide at its mouth to 1.9 metres at the inner end. Three orthostats remain standing on each side, with corbels still in place above portions of the gallery walls; one corbel on the southern side even displays curious indentations that may be ancient cup marks, though their artificial nature remains uncertain. What makes this tomb particularly intriguing is its complex internal architecture: midway along the southern edge sits a subsidiary lateral chamber, whilst the western end features two opposed gallery chambers separated by just 1.5 metres, possibly representing dual subsidiary chambers with a shared lateral entrance, though the exact original configuration remains a subject of archaeological debate.
The grass-grown mound, reaching a maximum height of about one metre, retains many of its original kerbstones, particularly along the northern and southern sides where they form contiguous stretches. Local oral history, recorded by Kinahan in the 1880s, tells of roofstones that once covered the chambers but were removed for building work sometime before 1845, as Ordnance Survey records from that period describe the monument in much its current state. Despite centuries of weathering and stone robbing, the tomb remains one of Donegal’s most architecturally complex megalithic monuments, its unusual combination of court, gallery, and multiple subsidiary chambers offering valuable insights into Neolithic burial practices and construction techniques.





