Guide by Category
Stone Circles14 Bronze Age monuments, from Cork to Tyrone
Ireland's stone circles were mostly built between 2500 and 500 BC, in the heart of the Bronze Age, for a purpose that combined ritual, ceremony, and — judging by the orientation of several of them — astronomical observation of the solstices and equinoxes. The densest concentration is in the southwest, in Cork and Kerry, where a design almost unique to the region developed: the axial stone circle, with two portal stones marking the entrance and a recumbent stone directly opposite, aligned with each other. Drombeg, Bohonagh, Reanascreena, Ardgroom, Cashelkeelty, Uragh, and Kenmare all belong to this tradition.
Click a province ↑Further north and east, the tradition shifts: Beaghmore, in Tyrone, is part of a unique complex of stone circles and rows in Ulster, while Castleruddery, in Wicklow, is actually a henge — a much rarer type of monument — with its famous white quartz portal stones. The Piper's Stones of Athgreany and the Broadleas circle, a few kilometers apart on the Wicklow-Kildare border, confusingly share the same local nickname, "Piper's Stones," but they're two distinct monuments, each with its own legend. Newgrange and Grange Stone Circle, alongside Lough Gur, round out the picture: here the stone circle sits alongside the passage tomb, a reminder that both types of monument belong to the same prehistoric ritual tradition.
Each destination's full page is currently only available in Spanish — clicking a card takes you to the Spanish-language write-up. To browse in English instead, try the interactive map.
Explore the 15 Circles
Leinster
3 places · Kildare, Wicklow
Spanish onlyBroadleas Stone Circle
Kildare · A Bronze Age stone circle whose stones, local legend says, can never be counted the same way twice.
Spanish onlyCastleruddery Stone Circle
Wicklow · Recumbent stone circle with notched stones, a National Monument.
Spanish onlyPiper's Stones (Athgreany)
Wicklow · According to legend, a piper and his dancers turned to stone.
Ulster
3 places · Down, Tyrone, Donegal
Spanish onlyBallynoe Stone Circle
Down · Possibly Ireland's oldest stone circle.
Spanish onlyBeaghmore Stone Circles
Tyrone · A remarkable Bronze Age complex of seven stone circles, stone rows, and cairns in the Sperrins.
Spanish onlyBeltany Stone Circle
Donegal · One of Ireland's largest stone circles, 64 stones crowning a hilltop in Donegal.
Munster
8 places · Cork, Limerick, Kerry
Spanish onlyArdgroom Stone Circle
Cork · A coastal stone circle on the Beara Peninsula with sweeping views over the Kenmare River.
Spanish onlyBohonagh Stone Circle
Cork · A recumbent stone circle in West Cork, part of the region's distinctive axial-circle tradition.
Spanish onlyCashelkeelty
Cork · A Bronze Age stone circle and standing stone pair on the Beara Peninsula.
Spanish onlyDrombeg Stone Circle
Cork · One of Ireland's best-known recumbent stone circles, aligned with the winter solstice sunset.
Spanish onlyGrange Stone Circle
Limerick · Ireland's largest stone circle.
Spanish onlyKenmare Stone Circle
Kerry · One of the largest circles in the southwest, with a central boulder burial.
Spanish onlyReanascreena Stone Circle
Cork · A well-preserved recumbent stone circle in the West Cork megalithic tradition.
Spanish onlyUragh Stone Circle
Kerry · One of Ireland's most spectacular circles, between lakes and mountains.
