Oweynagat - Cave of the Cats and Rathcroghan Royal Site
Here is a sample taken from our current audio visual at the Cruachan Aí Centre in Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. We are the official interpretive centre for the ancient royal site of Rathcroghan once the home to the Warrior Queen Maeve and the starting point for the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Rathcroghan is also home to Oweynagat (the cave of the cats) home to the Morrígan and other mythical creatures.
See our October schedule here @ Here is a sample taken from our current audio visual at the Cruachan Aí Centre in Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. We are the official interpretive centre for the ancient royal site of Rathcroghan once the home to the Warrior Queen Maeve and the starting point for the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Rathcroghan is also home to Oweynagat (the cave of the cats) home to the Morrígan and other mythical creatures.
See our October schedule here @
or visit our website rathcroghan.ie to book a tour, workshop or just to see what we are all about
The music is by Daíthi - a talented Irish musician
The Mórrígan's Cave - Oweynagat, at Rathcroghan/Cruachan, County Roscommon, Ireland
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[Q & A] - Asphodel Stardust asked: Thank you for these videos you take the time to do. Does she (The Morrigan) have a connection to cats given the name of her cave or is there another reason for it? Is there a specific reason for the tree above her cave being a Hawthorne tree??
Jessy h asked: Wow! How far or deep does the cave go? Is it a natural cave? Is there any lore or stories about it?
Facts about the Mórrígan's Cave - The Irish name for this site is Uaimh na gCat which translates as ‘Cave of the Cats’. This is a natural narrow limestone cave with a man-made souterrain at the entrance. Originally the entrance to the souterrain was contained within an earthen mound, which was disturbed by the construction of a road in the 1930s. The souterrain is constructed of drystone walling, orthostats and lintels, and measures a total of approximately 10.5 m from the entrance to the natural cave. The natural cave extends for a further 37 m.
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Welcome to Rathcroghan Visitor Centre
A quick look at the facilities available at Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, Tulsk, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon
Oweynagat, cave of the cats, Rathcroghan.A journey into mother earth.
Oweynagat is also known as the entrance to mother earth. The cave holds the divide between our world and the otherworld - especially at Samhain.
A focal point for pre-christian spirituality it is still visited and used by those who venerate mother earth.
In early Irish literature Oweynagat is home to numerous monsters and creatures from the otherworld. It is also home to the great queen Morrigan and the goddess Medb.
In one local fable a woman grabbed on to the tale of an unruly calf who ran down the cave appearing two days later in Co. Sligo.
The cave was formed by hydro erosion and in early christian times a souterrain was added at 90 degrees to the cave, this entrance is the one that visitors use today.
Rathcroghan aerial
Aerial shot of Rathcroghan Mound, filmed for the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. This is the central monument of the Rathcroghan Complex of prehistoric monuments. Rathcroghan is one of Irelands major Royal Sites, alongside Tara, Navan Fort, Dun Ailinne and Cashel. It is also a key location in the great Iron Age epic, the Táin Bó Cuailgne, being the royal site of the Kings of Connacht,and thus of Queen Medbh, who launched the great cattle raid depicted in the Táin.
UCD Archaeology Society trip to Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon
Credits:
Made from my own material and photos taken from UCD's Archaeology Society Website:
RathCroghan Complex, Co. Roscommon
Rathcroghan is best known as the Royal seat of Queen Maeve and Ailill, the legendary monarchs of Connacht, and notable for being the place in which the narrative of The Tain Bo Culainge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) began. The landscape was known in the early Irish literature as 'Cruachain' and is classed as a Royal settlement of great significance. Rathcroghan seems to have played the same regional role as other comparable sites in Ireland such as Tara, Knockaulin and Emhain Macha. It was also known as one of the great cemeteries of Ireland with many great warriors connected with it, an inaugural site and for having an entrance to the otherworld.
The site is located near the village of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, and is placed upon the eastern side of a plateau concentrated around the 100-110 meter contour with impressive views of the landscape around it especially in the east and south. The complex consists of a series of earthworks of probably Bronze Age date. There are 60 recorded sites out of a possible 200 or so. Many of the sites in the area are surmised to be ringforts, but may indeed be Bronze Age burials. 27 Prehistoric burials are known from the landscape.
Rath Cruachain lies to the centre of the complex and is the main focus of the area. It is a flat topped mound 88 meters in diameter and 8 meters in height, sloping from its base to a flat topped 30 meter in diameter summit. Close to the center there is a small 4 meter in diameter mound. The entrance to the mound is from the east with an opposite exit to the west. A magnetic gradiometery survey discovered an impressive outer ditch 360 meter in diameter encircling the mound, two annular ring barrows and two straight ditches (A ceremonial route way) 8 meters apart to the south-east measuring 90 meters, equally impressive, in the north, attached to the eastern side of a 26 meter enclosure, a similar avenue of about 100 meters long (disappearing beyond the scope of the survey) consisting of palisade was also revealed. Similar route ways have been found at Eamhain Macha , Knockaulin and Tara.
The 3 main phases at Rath Cruachain:
1) Two concentric stone walls of 22 and 35 meters in diameter are buried deep within the earth. The original monument had a steep sloping or vertical structure with a possible timber palisade.
2) A double pit circle outlined by geophysical indicates the presence of a large structure 32 meters in diameter and constant rebuilding of this structure over time and time again.
3) The last phase of this site consisted of the covering over of the site by a small earthen mound.
Close by there is a fallen sandstone standing stone known as Miosgain Maeve (Maeve's heap), which legend has it is a marker of her grave. Another sandstone standing stone is nearby known as Daithi's stone or Daithi's Mound is probably an embanked burial mound. The mound is about 40 meters in diameter with the pillar stone standing on top of the mound. Pillar stones are known from other sites, most notably the stone of destiny that stands at Tara. They were associated with the inauguration of monarchs. According to legend, Daithi was the last pagan king of Ireland dying in 429 AD. Limited excavation in 1981 revealed the mound to be natural and was carved out of a small gravel ridge. No burials were found.
The entrance to the otherworld known as Oweynagat (Uaimh nagCat or cave of the cats) is a natural cave with a soutterain style entrance and seems to have played a ritualistic role for the people in the area. To enter the cave one has to crouch down and either enter feet or head first. After the initial opening, you take a sharp left and go deeper underground into the darkness. The entrance lintel is carved with Ogham Froech son of Maeve -- a reference to a hero of Connacht who married Maeve's daughter- As you descend into the belly of the earth, for some, it can be a frightening experience. As your heart beats rapidly, you begin to wonder what you would do if there was a sudden collapse of the cave behind you. After the passage way you enter a narrow high cavern. The limestone walls are veined with water running down it to the muddy ground. The cavern used to run much further, but in the 20thC there was a collapse when a telephone pole was being put in the ground above.
Bibliography:
Waddell, J. (2010). The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland Dublin. Wordwell.
Rathcroghan - Haunted Exhibition 2014
Promo video for Haunted Exhibition @ Rathcroghan Visitor Centre
Welcome to Ireland from Rathcroghan
My lifelong dream trip was to go to Ireland. Here I am at a town in Rothcroghan, tumbling down the hill.
Cruachain in the snow
Trail running
Ireland-An Seanfhoid-#3
Ireland - the ecclesiastical. Slides of abbeys and grave yards at Cashel, Glendalough, Boyle, Slane, Fethard, Sligo and Tulsk. Including the Boyle sheila-na-gig. See also parts #1 and #2 for Dublin, rough and smooth roads and B&Bs and an introduction to Stone Age Ireland. Part #4 gives you towns and pubs.
003 Rathcroghan and the People of the Mounds
SEGMENT 1- Mindie on Rathcroghan
Rathcroghan is a complex of 240 archaeological sites that includes 60 national monuments that are spread out in tract of land that is about 4 square miles. The sites range from Neolithic (5-7000 BC) to Medieval periods 5th – 15th centuries). On the site there are burial mounds, ring forts, enclosures, linear earthworks (roads / trails) and very special cave.
Rathcroghan is located near the village of Tulsk in County Roscommon. It’s known to be a royal site – the ancient capital of the province of Connaught. We talked a little bit about royal sites in the last podcast. These would have been sites of ritual and gathering. … sites of massive deposits of human emotion and energy. That human energy connected to the natural elemental energy of the land becomes something greater than the sum of its parts.
I believe that human emotion and the energy it creates can impact energy of a place. Perhaps there was an inherent energy in the land that drew people –knowingly or unknowingly to mark out a sacred site. And as the human rituals and gatherings imprinted their own energy on the existing high energy of a place – a thin place is born. Rathcroghan is a thin place.
While it may not be as well-known as the other royal sites in Ireland – Tara, Emain Macha, Cashel, Uisneagh – it’s a remarkable thin places where the energies are often palpable. Rathcroghan Royal Site from Voices of the Dawn website
SEGMENT 2 – Guest Interview
We are lucky today to have Mike Croghan who lives there, talk with us today about this special site Mike and his rather are the last Croghans to live on Rathcroghan. They are a farming family. Mike also leads tours to sacred and archaeological sites in Western Ireland. He’s also a professional photographer and does a lot of aerial filming.
Rathcroghan Tours – tours by Mike Croghan Please note that the other two websites mentioned (raven.photo and airview.ie are no longer available)
SEGMENT 3 – Mindie Recommends - Leprechaun Museum
I’m going to end this podcast with a recommendation for you. The Leprechaun Museum in Dublin. Open daily, staffed by trained storytellers who are passionate about Irish mythology, tradition and understanding of the otherworld. Open Daily 10 :30 am to 6pm. Guided tours and awesome interpretive displays that focus on the people of the Sidhe and Irish folklore.
Also open at night – Friday and Saturday for the Darkland tour – twisted tales from the darker side of Ireland. About 16 EUR to get in. Quality entertainment. Leprechaun Museum – Dublin Leprechauns: Facts About the Irish Trickster Fairy
SEGMENT 4 - CONCLUDE
Thank you for listening to the Thin Places Travel Podcast. If you have questions, thoughts, travel stories or sites you’d like us to feature on this podcast, you can find us on the web at thinplacespodcast.com. Just click the contact link.
You can also find me on twitter at @travelhags and on Facebook at facebook.com/thinplaces. If you’d like more information on our tours, you can visit our website at thinplacestour.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us quick rating and review on iTunes – under Thin Places Travel Podcast., and consider subscribing.
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Driving near Tulsk
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Your Irish Connection - Cave of the Cats in January 2018 - Part 8
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Uaimh na gCait, the Cave of the Cats, is the entrance to the Irish Otherworld located in Rathcroghan, just outside Tulsk in County Roscommon. Check the Playlist for the full series of videos.
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Introduction to the Mórrígan
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The Friary Farm at Friary Tulsk
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ravin in a shed..seriouse..!
seriouse craic with the strobe light..!
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