Lough Gur

Lough Gur has been continuously occupied since around 4000 BC, which makes it one of the longest-inhabited places in Ireland, and the monuments around the lake cover almost every period since. The Grange stone circle, on the road a short distance from the lake, is the largest in the country - 113 standing stones enclosing a circle about forty-five metres across, with an earthen bank behind them and an entrance aligned on the summer solstice sunrise; the largest stone, Rannach Croim Duibh, weighs over forty tonnes. Elsewhere around the lake are wedge tombs, ring forts, two crannogs, hut sites and a medieval castle. The Bronze Age Lough Gur Shield, now in the National Museum, was found in the lake. A visitor centre on the shore covers the archaeology, and the monuments themselves are in fields, mostly free and accessible, some requiring a short walk across farmland.

What you actually see

• The Grange stone circle - 113 stones, the largest circle in Ireland.
• The wedge tombs and forts - monuments spanning six thousand years around the lake.
• The crannogs - artificial island dwellings in the water.
• The visitor centre - interpretation on the shore, with reconstructions.

When to go

April to October; the visitor centre is seasonal. The solstice alignment at Grange draws a gathering in June. Monuments are in fields - wet after rain.

Honest expectations

The visitor centre is seasonal and ticketed while the monuments are scattered and free - they are not all in one place, and reaching them means driving between sites and crossing farmland. Grange is on private land with an honesty box.

Nearby

Bruff and Kilmallock are south; Limerick city is north.