Breeny More Stone Circle is an

axial stone circle An axial stone circle is a megalithic ring of stones of a particular design found in County Cork and County Kerry in southwest Ireland. Archaeologists have found it convenient to consider the axial five-stone circle and axial multiple-stone circl ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Breeny More Stone Circle is situated southeast of

Kealkill Kealkill () is a small village in County Cork, Ireland, located 10.3 kilometres from Bantry and 75.8 kilometres from Cork City. Its amenities include a church, a shop, a school, a community playgroup, two public houses and a GAA club ( St Colu ...

, overlooking

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay ( ga, Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 mi ...

to the west. Another stone circle lies to the northeast.

History

Boulder burials of this type are believed to date from the middle

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, i.e. 1500–1000 BC. The toponym is from the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''brúine móra'', "great dwellings of the

fairies A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

Description

This is a stone circle with four boulder burials. The circle has two entrance stones and an axial stone, with a main axis measuring . It has a southeast-northwest axis, facing the rising sun. A "boulder burial" is a single large boulder sitting on three or four support stones; the term was coined by

Seán Ó Nualláin Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (giv ...

in the 1970s. They are generally found in the southwest, and associated with standing stones and stone circles; some dispute that there were ever burial sites, as no human remains have ever been recovered.

References

{{Reflist National Monuments in County Cork Megalithic monuments in Ireland 2nd-millennium BC establishments