A Visit to Drumbeg Stone Circle – The Druid’s Alter

In honour of my great grandfather, William Bulfin, known for his travels across Ireland, I’d like to share a recent journey of my own to Drumbeg stone circle, one of Ireland’s more impressive megalithic arrangements.

William was a well-known writer in Irish literary circles around the turn of the twentieth century, who emigrated to Argentina before returning to the Emeral Isle many years later. While in Argentina he worked as a journalist for the Southern Cross newspaper. He is best remembered for his book ‘Rambles in Eirinn’ where he documents his travels throughout Ireland, and his encounters with the various locals of the townlands he visited.

A new edition of ‘Rambles in Eirinn’ has just been published (‘25) and is available in all good Irish bookshops or to order on Amazon, so in the spirit of his book my trip will include a brief encounter with a colourful character, in this case a wily west cork dairy farmer.

The Journey

During the Halloween midterm, the wife and I brought the kids to Kinsale in west Cork for a break, with some sightseeing in mind. Kinsale is a picturesque town located at the mouth of the river Bannon, guarded by two former British army barracks built on peninsulas, now museums jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean.

In front of the town is a fine marina full of boats and small yachts, but it wasn’t for the sailing we came, so driving across a long bridge spanning some of the widest sections of the Bannon on a late sunny morning, we set out for Drumbeg stone circle.

Situated in the small townland of Gandore, Drumbeg stone circle is roughly 1-hour away, and not far from the better-known coastal town of Clonakilty, also scenic and like Kinsale busy with tourists, particularly during the summer.

Following Google maps ‘recommended’ fastest route, we found ourselves navigating treacherous back roads bending here, there, and everywhere, sometimes only with enough room for a single car to pass, all with the intent to shave a few minutes of our journey time.

Fortunately, encounters with other vehicles on those sections of road proved rare. However, I do recall coming out of a tight bend to find an oncoming lorry bearing down us and just being able to ‘keep in enough’ to avoid a serious accident. No, in future, I will stick to the main roads where possible even if it takes a few more minutes to get to wherever we’re going. Lesson learned.

The Stones

Finally, after some white-knuckle driving we arrived at the small carpark for Drumbeg stone circle, still unsure how long the walk would take. We passed through a small opening in a waist high wall and after a short walk down a grassy avenue entered a vibrant green field to see the stones under a brilliant blue sky only a few dozen meters before us.

Drumbeg Stone Circle, as approached from the grassy avenue

There are 17 stones in all, 16 orthostats (standing upright) and one blocky recumbent (laying flat), the axial stone, all local sandstone. This monument is thought to have been constructed around 3,000 years ago, making it late Bronze age.

The axial stone lies directly opposite the portal pair, or two largest uprights which act like a gateway into the circle. The stones gradually decrease in height from the portal pair as they travel around to reach the low-lying axial stone.

Entering the Portal

The direction of the portal pair and axial stone align with the setting winter solstice sun. Some form of equinox or solstice sun alignments are common in Irish Megalithic monuments; constructed with astrological observation in mind.

Another key feature of the axial stone is that the upper surface has two hollows, one of which is surrounded by a carving. It is speculated by many that this blocky horizontal stone acted as an altar for cerimonial or ritualistic purposes, hence this circle often being referred to as the ‘Druid’s Alter’.

Settlement

Only a few steps away from the stones is a fine example of a ‘Fulacht Fiadh,’ a rectangular stone lined pit which was filled with water before hot stones were rolled into it to boil the water. It is generally believed this was an ancient method used to cook meat. However, some speculate the heated water may have been used for bathing or even brewing beer.

Nearby this cooking feature the foundations of a stone hut were also discovered. This structure has been carbon dated (a method of dating based on carbon levels remaining in dead organic matter) to around 500 AD, suggesting activity around the site was ongoing for the better part of two millennia.

Fulacht Fiadh

Ritual & Mythology

As mentioned, the position and shaping of the axial stone suggests that it was used for ritualistic purposes, including animal and possibly even child sacrifices to gain favour from the Irish pagan gods.

During the 1930’s, a well known Irish clairvoyant, Geraldine Cummins visited the site and was said to have been overcome by visions of a blue cloaked priest performing a human sacrifice at the axial stone. After recovering from her trance she declared the place cursed.

Axial stone complete with much more benign offerings

Excavation

Seventeen years later, in 1957 the site was officially excavated, and a layer of compressed shard like gravel was found just below the circle’s soil surface. Beneath this compact gravel was a pit where an inverted clay pot with the cremated remains of a young person dating back to the bronze age was recovered. Perhaps Geraldine’s vision was true, after all.

A Curious Encounter

After capturing many a fine images at the stones and generally enjoying our time out in the fresh west Cork air, it was back to the car and Kinsale. However, before we could get on the road, we were waved down by a man I guessed to be somewhere in his 70’s.

The man turned out to be a local farmer who approached my driver side window and gently asked me to hold on while his herd of dairy cows passed by the carpark’s exit.

He sparked up a conversation by asking me if I was from Dublin. The registration plate of my wife’s SUV no doubt the giving us away. I told him I was, and he went on to tell me that Dublin was the only place in the country you could make a bit of money. Perhaps the recent year of the car we were driving leading him to draw conclusions, however true or false they might be.

He then said to me straight faced, that ‘A lot of us down here are on the poverty line’ as we waited for his fine herd of Holstein Friesian guided by some young men, to stomp by, nearly a hundred cows in all, if I had to guess. At one point, he even proudly pointed out two young bulls among them.

I told him I wasn’t far off the poverty line myself, and at this the corners of his mouth drew up in a subtle smile.

I turned the conversation to the surnames of friends from a neighbouring town, I’d met along this journey we call life. He confirmed there were indeed some in the town by that name, also cute hoors (Irish euphemism for shrewd scoundrels) in their own right. Then his dairy herd were past, and he was gone, and we were on our way.

William Bulfin

Sometime known as Che Bueno to the local Argentines he came to live amongst

‘Rambles in Eirinn’, new edition front cover