Lough Gur Prehistoric Site

12.5mi/20km south of Limerick, at Holycross on the bow-shaped Lough Gur, lies a prehistoric site (National Monument) of exceptional interest. During the 19th C. the lough was partly drained, when evidence of occupation going back to the Neolithic period was found. The following features are particularly notable: No. 4, a wedge-shaped passage grave (ca.

2000 B.C.); No. 7, a stone fort (eighth century); No. 8, an oval stone fort (Early Christian period); No. 12, a Neolithic burial place surrounded by a double earthwork, with a standing stone in the middle; No. 16, a burial mound with a circle of standing stones (c. 1500 B.C.); No. 17, a fine double stone circle with an earth rampart and a ditch (age uncertain); No. 22, a small stone circle of large slabs; No. 23, a crannog (originally an artificial islet, now linked to the shore); and No. 28, an imposing stone circle (c. 2000 B.C.), a cult site with an almost monumental entrance.

There are also two medieval structures, Bourchier's Castle (16th C.) and Black Castle (14th C.), and the ruined 17th C. New Church.