Skip to content
Céide Fields — photo by Liz McCabe
Photo: Liz McCabe · CC BY-SA 2.0

Céide Fields

Popularity
25

About this place

The Céide Fields (Irish: Achaidh Chéide, meaning 'flat-topped hill fields') is an extensive prehistoric archaeological landscape located on the north coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The complex consists of buried stone-walled field systems, habitation evidence, enclosures, and megalithic monuments preserved beneath blanket bog. The site has traditionally been interpreted as a Neolithic farming landscape dating to the fourth millennium BCE, based on radiocarbon dating, palaeoenvironmental analysis, excavation evidence, and long-term archaeological investigation conducted throughout the Céide Fields and wider North Mayo region. An alternative interpretation proposed by Andrew Whitefield has suggested that aspects of the landscape may be more comparable to later Bronze Age or Iron Age field systems documented elsewhere in Europe. The Behy court tomb, a megalithic monument, lies within the Céide Fields complex. The site is in UNESCO's tentative list to gain World Heritage status. There is estimated to be more than 100 km (62 mi) of field enclosure stone walls hidden beneath the peat bog.

Getting There & Parking

Céide Fields is located in County Mayo, roughly 151 km (2h 15m drive) from Galway and 301 km (4h 25m) from Dublin. The nearest public car park is 102 m away (Free). Nearby highlights within a short drive include Blowhole (1.6 km away).

Galway151 km
~2h 15m drive
Limerick244 km
~3h 35m drive
Dublin301 km
~4h 25m drive
Nearest car park Free

102 m from landmark

Directions to car park ↗

No embedded videos cached yet for Céide Fields.

Search on YouTube →

Nearby places

More Archaeological Site in Ireland

See all →

Found Céide Fields helpful for your Ireland trip?

Support IrelandMap
Directions