Poulnabrone Dolmen

About this place

Poulnabrone dolmen (Irish: Poll na Brón, lit. 'Hole of the Quernstone') is a large dolmen (or cromlech, a type of single-chamber portal tomb) located in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. Situated on one of the region's most desolate and highest points, it comprises three standing portal stones supporting a heavy horizontal capstone and dates to the early Neolithic period, with estimates from 3800 and 3200 BC. Although not the largest, it is the best known of the approximately 172 dolmens in Ireland. It was constructed on a unique karst landscape formed from limestone laid down around 350 million years ago. The dolmen was built by Neolithic farmers, choosing the location either for ritual, as a territorial marker, or as a collective burial site. What remains today is only the "stone skeleton" of the original monument; originally, it would have been covered with soil, and its flagstone capped by a cairn. When the site was excavated in 1986 and again in 1988, around 33 human remains, including those of adults and children (including the remains of a much later Bronze Age infant), were found buried underneath it. Researchers also discovered various stone and bone objects that would have been placed with the dead at the time of interment. The human remains and objects are estimated to have been buried intermittently during the 600-year period between 3800 and 3200 BC.

Visitor Information

Heritage status

Protected Heritage Site

Getting There & Parking

Poulnabrone Dolmen is located in County Clare, roughly 32 km (30 min drive) from Galway and 249 km (3h 40m) from Dublin. The nearest public car park is 188 m away (Free). Nearby highlights within a short drive include Caherconnell Stone Fort (0.9 km away).