placenamesLoughcrew
Loch Craobh
The nearby hilltop cemetery connects Neolithic construction with a later landscape legend.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Loch Craobh · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Loughcrew · English · main form
Place & story
A chamber facing the equinox sunrise
Loughcrew’s hilltop megalithic cemetery near Oldcastle is a landmark of the wider locality, rather than the whole civil parish. The Office of Public Works describes passage tombs spread across four peaks and dating to around 3000 BC. Cairn T on Carnbane East contains a cross-shaped chamber, a corbelled roof and carved stones. Its alignment catches sunrise at the spring and autumn equinoxes. [2] [3]
The witch crossing the hills
The OPW’s account records a legend that a witch formed the cairns by leaping between hills and dropping stones from her apron. Attempting the final hill, she fell and died; the story places her burial on the slopes of Patrickstown Hill. This is a traditional explanation of the conspicuous monuments, distinct from their archaeological identification as Neolithic tombs. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Loughcrew. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Loughcrew Megalithic Cemetery · Office of Public Works, Heritage Ireland
- Loughcrew Megalithic Cemetery: Highlights · Office of Public Works, Heritage Ireland
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2024-10-24. How this page was prepared.