The Cavan Burren

Situated about 4 kilometres south of Blacklion, County Cavan lies the townland of Burren, it is a mountainous limestone area similar to the more famous Burren in County Clare. Burren comes from Gaelic word 'Boireann' meaning stony place. In the 1950s the area was completely planted with conifer forest. Recently there have been a number of surveys carried out in the Burren and Marlbank areas. One of these surveys was carried out by Gaby Burns and Jim Nolan, two school teachers from Enniskillen County Fermanagh. Gaby and Jim made many interesting discoveries during there survey and have produced an excellent booklet (recommended) about the Cavan Burren area, it is available at the Blacklion Market House Tourist office. There is also now a wonderful megalithic trail through the forest, this trail is well signposted. Along the walking trail are an amazing variety of megalithic tombs, glacial erratics, hut sites, newly discovered rock art and even a promontory fort.

Burren(SW) Portal Tomb

As you enter the forest the first tomb you will encounter is approximately 100 metres along the trail after the second gate, the tomb is to the south of the path about 120 metres into the forest and signposted as a cairn dolmen. The tomb is a small portal tomb with most of the cairn still intact. The cairn is roughly 20 metres by 16 metres. The chamber is quite small but has two roof slabs, this tomb is often identified as a wedge tomb and this is quite understandable as it is very similar in appearance to the wedge tombs in the Burren region of County Clare.