Megalithic tomb - court tomb, Na Fargáin, Leitir Mhic An Bhaird, Co. Donegal
On a gentle slope overlooking Gweebarra Bay and the estuary of the Gweebarra River, this well-preserved court tomb offers a fascinating glimpse into Ireland's Neolithic past.
Megalithic tomb - court tomb, Na Fargáin, Leitir Mhic An Bhaird, Co. Donegal
The monument, located about a kilometre from the southern estuary, sits amongst fair pasture broken by outcropping rocks, with rising ground limiting views to the north and east. Though unmarked on Ordnance Survey maps, the tomb remains remarkably intact, save for its missing roof and a modern field wall that cuts diagonally across the gallery.
What makes this particular tomb unusual is its clever incorporation of a massive erratic boulder into its structure. This large rock forms the inner half of the gallery’s northern wall, with a natural projection that narrows the passage at its midpoint, effectively dividing the space into two chambers. The builders likely chose this sloping location specifically to take advantage of the boulder, even though the terrain, which drops away steeply just three metres to the south, would have made constructing a covering cairn particularly challenging.
The tomb consists of a gallery just over five metres long internally, preceded by the remains of a court to the east. Seven courtstones survive, including two that serve as entrance jambs to the gallery, with the remaining stones decreasing in height as they extend northward; the outermost stands just 15cm high. The gallery itself varies in width, measuring 2 to 2.5 metres in its outer half before narrowing dramatically to 85cm at the midpoint where the erratic boulder projects inward, then widening again to 1.5 metres in the inner chamber. Three stones form each side of the gallery walls, with a backstone closing off the western end. About 20 metres east of the tomb, two small embanked enclosures, possibly ancient hut sites, provide tantalising hints of the community that once built and used this remarkable monument.





