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Meave's Cairn

Meave's Cairn, or as it is also known as Misgaun Maeve, dominates the landscape west of Sligo Town. At the top of Knocknarea Mountain, it seems to have been a major place of ritual and meeting in the Neolithic era. The entire top of Knocknarea on the eastern side is circumscribed by a 1km long embankment. Hut sites have been located on the inside of this area. A large amount of debris from making stone tools have also been collected. Maeve's cairn is by far the largest monument on Knocknarea, being 10m high and 55m across at the base. It is estimated that the stones used in the construction of Meave's Cairn would weigh approx' 40,000 metric tons. It probably covers a passage tomb similar to those at Carrowkeel and in the Boyne valley and would have been built by Neolithic peoples about 3000 BC. Its name suggests that it was built for Maeve, the Iron Age queen of Connacht, but any association with her is probably legendary. Each year in July runners from all over Ireland (and various parts of the world) converge on Strandhill to follow in the footsteps of Queen Meave's ancient warriors, this mountain running race is known as the Warrior Run.

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