Slieve Gullion Passage tomb, Armagh

Slieve Gullion South Cairn / 'Calliagh Berras House'

Neolithic Passage Tomb

Known as Ireland's highest surviving passage tomb, this huge cairn was built by Neolithic people around 5,000 years ago. The cairn is about 30 metres in diameter and sits on the southern summit of Slieve Gullion, about 900 metres to the north is a smaller cairn known as Slieve Gullion North. At the southwest of the south cairn is a lintelled entrance to a roughly 4.5 metre long lintelled passageway that leads to an octagonal chamber. Originally the roof of the chamber was corbelled but it has mostly collapsed and been replaced with a modern lintelled one. Like the magnificent passage tomb at Newgrange in County Meath, the passageway is also aligned with the sun on the winter solstice, except it is the setting sun rather than the rising sun, but here the similarities end. Unlike the passageway at Newgrange, with its decorated orthostats, the passage and chamber were constucted using drystone-walling and there is no passage tomb art present at Slieve Gullion.

The monument is known locally as 'Calliagh Berra's House' and similar to the megalithic complex at Loughcrew it is associated with the mythical hag the Cailleach. In Irish Cailleach means "the veiled one" meaning a Hag/Old Woman, in Irish mythology she is a goddess of winter or death. On the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, a rock known as the Hag of Beara, Irish: Cailleach Bhéarra, is said to represent the fossilized remains of the Divine Hag.

Slieve Gullion South Cairn / 'Calliagh Berras House' Neolithic Passage Tomb Known as Ireland's highest surviving passage tomb, this huge cairn was built by Neolithic people around 5,000 years ago. The cairn is about 30 metres in diameter and sits on the southern summit of Slieve Gullion, about 900 metres to the north is a smaller cairn known as Slieve Gullion North. At the southwest of the south cairn is a lintelled entrance to a roughly 4.5 metre long lintelled passageway that leads to an octagonal chamber. Originally the roof of the chamber was corbelled but it has mostly collapsed and been replaced with a modern lintelled one. Like the magnificent passage tomb at Newgrange in County Meath, the passageway is also aligned with the sun on the winter solstice, except it is the setting sun rather than the rising sun, but here the similarities end. Unlike the passageway at Newgrange, with its decorated orthostats, the passage and chamber were constucted using drystone-walling and there is no passage tomb art present at Slieve Gullion. The monument is known locally as 'Calliagh Berra's House' and similar to the megalithic complex at Loughcrew *it is associated with the mythical hag the Cailleach.* In Irish Cailleach means "the veiled one" meaning a Hag/Old Woman, in Irish mythology she is a goddess of winter or death. On the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, a rock known as the Hag of Beara, Irish: Cailleach Bhéarra**, is said to represent the fossilized remains of the Divine Hag.
The entrance, exterior	The entrance from the passageway

Situated: From the second car park or viewing point on the west side of the mountain it is roughly 35 minutes on foot to the south cairn. In the summer of 2025 the entrance to the cairn was closed for safety reasons. Discovery Map 29: J 0246 2031. Last visit 2022. Longitude: 6° 26' 00.4" W Latitude: 54° 07' 18.7 " N Google Map Photos: José Gutiérrez