ACTIVITIES IN TYRONE

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Irish Post

Malcolm Rogers explores the legacy of ancient man in windswept County Tyrone.

As you stand on a windswept bog in the heart of old Tyrone, somehow it’s not difficult to believe that some of the oldest known human-made constructions have been made here.

Homo sapiens hibernicus was alive and well in this part of ‘Norn Iron’ just after the Ice Age — some six to seven thousand years ago, and their culture was already ancient by the time the Celts arrived. Not only were the Neolithic colonisers of Ireland building places to live, but also tombs for their dead.

A tomb is a significant thing — it indicates respect for the deceased and a real attachment to ancestors. Evidently among these early people there was a need, continuing across the millennia to the present day, to visit the dead and attempt to communicate with we-know-not-what.

With this in mind I wandered around the ancient stones of Tyrone and found:.

Tombs and stone circles
The Dun Ruadh tombs and stone circle lie on the sweeping curve of Crockyneill, roughly between Cookstown and Omagh. Dun Ruadh is a multiple cist cairn — which is a complex series of stone structures.

Beyond the Dun Ruadh graves, further up the hill, is another monument — a mass stone built in the 19th century so that the oppressed faithful could worship in safety.

A courtly tomb
Creggandeveskey Court tomb is a well-preserved court tomb just over two miles north east of Carrickmore (itself a town worth a visit just to see the impressive Republican memorial).

Many of the prehistoric graves found in Ireland, such as Creggandeveskey, indicate they were built to accommodate rituals alongside, or perhaps inside, the graves.

The actual nature of these rituals is obscure, but may resemble practices observed until recently among isolated tribes — journeying to the ancestral graves, taking out the corpses (or remaining bones) and dressing them.

A great place for a view
Knockmany Passage Grave, or Annia’s Cove, is a mile north west of Augher (near Clogher) and on the summit of Knockmany at the top of the Forest Park (another good walk).

The Cairn at the top gives you a spectacular view across the Clogher valley. However, ancient Irish man may not have been universally benign. It seems that when any structure was built a sacrifice was made, possibly to compensate the gods for any interference caused in the unity of the earth.

A wide range of victims seem to have been pressed into service, including sheep, hares and humans. The humans are usually what we would call middle-aged men. You can just imagine an ancient Neolithic parent saying to his disgruntled children, “Huh! After the sacrifices I’ve made ...”

Graves and ancient stone circles
Not far away in the lowlands of Creggan there’s a forest of ancient graves and stone circles.

If you pop into An Creagán Visitor’s Centre (on the Omagh-Cookstown road phone: 0298 807 61112) they will give you a visitor’s pack which will guide you to places like Loughmacrory Wedge.

This dates back to 2000 BC, or Aghascrebagh, a standing stone which only goes back as far as 500 BC. Being modern it has the new-fangled Ogham writing decorating one side of the structure.

The Creagán leaflets will also guide you to the truly remarkable stone circles of Beaghmore, dating back to the Bronze Age — which may have served as a prehistoric temple.

Atop an ancient way
Balix Lower Court Grave, about three miles north of Plumbridge, high on a hillside overlooking Butterlope Glen, is situated in a magnificent position, above one of the ancient thoroughfares through the Sperrins.

The court grave has a v-shaped forecourt at the end of a long cairn. This one is worth a visit for the spectacular view.

For Sperrin Trails phone Oonagh McKenna 028 8164 8157. E-mail: info@sperrintrails.com.