Poulnabrone Dolmen

Iconic prehistoric monuments, located on the Burren limestone plateau in County Clare. It dates to the Neolithic period, around 3800–3200 BCE, making it over 5,000 years old. Excavations in the late 20th century revealed the remains of at least 33 individuals, including adults and children, along with grave goods such as pottery, stone tools, and beads, indicating its use as a burial site over several centuries. Beautiful unencumbered limestone landscape. Dramatic Dolmen. Try and make it there for a sunset. Easy access. Open to the public without admission

A beautiful Neolithic site, the dolmen sits within a large patch of crazed limestone that gives it an eerie, otherworldly quality. We were lucky to find the site deserted just before dusk, which definitely added to the experience. Wear sensible shoes and tread carefully when walking across the limestone. Highly recommended.

The informational signs were really insightful. Highly recommend and easy to get around this area if you are able-bodied. Don't recommend for individuals in wheelchairs or elderly who need stable footing.

Quick but interesting visit to see the Dolmen. Its free to visit, and there's a car park a short walk away. Information panels give you an idea of how important a monument this would have been to our ancestors, and there's is great views across the landscape

After experiencing at the crowds of The Cliffs of Mohr, Poulnabrone was a beautiful and peaceful place to reflect and relax. The combination of the ancient dolmen set aginst the carved karst of the Burren, inlaid with small colorful flowers was amazing. A truely spirtitual place.

We were lucky to visit this site on a lovely sunny day. I was a bit surprised at the crowds, but there was plenty of parking space, and a local man was there selling his handmade art — including necklaces where he can even add writing in ogham. A nice touch that made the stop more memorable. The dolmen itself is one of the most iconic monuments in the Burren. It’s a Neolithic portal tomb, built over 5,000 years ago, and excavations revealed the remains of more than 30 people buried here, along with artifacts like pottery and stone tools. Standing in front of it, with its massive capstone balanced on upright stones, you really feel the weight of history against the stark limestone landscape. Local folklore adds another layer: some say Poulnabrone is a doorway to the Otherworld, where the spirits of the dead could pass through. Stories link these ancient portal tombs to fairies and the sídhe, guardians of Ireland’s underworld. Even today, standing there in the Burren wind, it’s easy to imagine the site holding more than just stone — but memory and myth as well. We really enjoyed the visit, though I’d recommend planning your trip carefully: the nearby Caherconnell Stone Fort closes early, while the dolmen is open 24/7. In hindsight, I wish we’d gone to the Stone Fort first and then visited the dolmen after, since you can always come here at any time of day. It’s a place that combines natural beauty, archaeology, and folklore. Easy to access, free to visit, and definitely worth the stop if you’re exploring the Burren.

Well worth the visit. Informative panels line the winding but increasingly rocky path from the car park. The area around the stones is very rugged and people with accessibility concerns should be cautious.

Neat place! Its sad they have it fenced, but I understand people would be trying to climb it otherwise. There was a man selling personalized Ogham jewelry when we went. The ground is nifty here, but watch your step! Sept 16 2024

By far our favorite Neolithic structure seen during our drive through Ireland. The path from parking lot was gravel but to get close we had to walk over some weathered and rutted limestone. Tread carefully. The enigmatic portal has been standing for many thousands of years. Maybe a marker, a tomb or something else. A must see for those driving through the Burren.

Some 22 years, I first encountered Poulnabrone Dolmen, prior to the Cliff of Moher. I was very eager to revisit. The Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren, County Clare, is surely one of the most photogenic ancient sites in Ireland, with its thin limestone slabs lying elegantly atop one another. It's also the OLDEST dated megalithic monument on the island, dating back 5,800 years! But the accolades don't stop there. After the Cliffs of Moher, it's the second most visited site in the Burren.

The Poulnabrone Dolmen contends for my favorite place we saw during our trip around Ireland. It seems to be very prevalent on tour book covers and seemed too iconic to miss. It was pouring rain as we drove to it but when we arrived, the clouds started to clear and we were able to spend a fair amount of time enjoying the area. Thanks to the unpredictable weather, there were only a couple other groups there. The portal tomb itself is striking but almost equally impressive is the landscape. This seemed to be the perfect example of the limestone terrain that the Burren is known for. The tomb has a roped off perimeter around it that keeps it a safe distance from the prying tourists and thankfully everyone there at the same time as us was being very respectful. The car park had ample space (could easily fit several tour buses in addition to the cars) and is well marked. It is absolutely worth the detour if you are traveling between Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. 5 stars.

I saw a picture of this type of rock on the cover of my lonely planner Ireland tour book. So I started to look into those rocks and realized the site is all over the Ireland. It's a quick, self-guided 10 minutes walk. You can stop here after visiting the Cliff Moher and before Galway. The landscape is very unusual. The mountain is covered by rocks. I don't believe I saw anything like this in my Ireland trip. The rock is full of calcium. So u heard the cow milk is excellent in this area. There is no admission fee for this place. It's not a hot tourist spot, so only few people there. It's a cool style tomb and looks magnificent no matter which angel you take picture from. The glacier rocks makes the whole place looks more mysterious. This is a high-light of my Ireland trip because I've always wanted to see it. If you have about 30 minutes on your trip, I'll definitely suggest to have a quick stop by and check it out.

Along the way from the Cliffs of Moher to Londonderry, we stopped at Poulnabrone dolmen, a portal tomb dating back to the Neolithic period. A dolmen is a type of stone monument made of two or more upright stones with a single stone lying across them, and this is one of the best-known of all Irish dolmens. An excavation in 1985 revealed that there were the remains of over two dozen humans buried under the stones. It is situated on the karstic limestone pavement of the Burren, which was a really interesting landscape.

This place is interesting for all the things mentioned by James A., BUT it's sort of disappointing that it is so small and in the middle of nowhere! If you have time, don't miss it. If you don't, skip it.

This ancient tomb is the crowning glory in the Burren's barren, otherworldly landscape. Somewhere around 5,000 years old, it is an imposing monument to the spirituality of Ireland's earliest peoples. (You try shifting an 8 ton slab of stone in the rain without a crane. You'd have to really want to do it...) The Dolmen has a big car park and gets hammered by tour buses during the peak season. I would wait till winter, and view it in the misty miserable drizzle. You will get the excellent chatty, friendly, informative OPW guide all to yourself (and you will learn a lot), as well as a real appreciation for how hard life must have been on this bare limestone plateau. The tomb is visible from the R480 and the car park is signposted.

It's a national landmark and quite cool to look at and realise it was put there centuries ago, hundreds of years before Christ was even born. Pretty amazing sure. I think the getting there adds to the experience of looking at it.

I was expecting something much bigger especially as in photos it really seems quite large so I was quite taken aback when it was rather small! Nevertheless, it was still worth the visit and was quite incredible to see. We arrived just before 10 am and were the only ones there which was quite special! There is a lot of information about the tomb around the place and the terrain is really quite intriguing. I'd love to see a time lapse of the area over the last 10,000 years to see all the changes it's gone through! I'd definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area.

We visited this site in the pouring rain and I would do it again. A short walk with much history. Free admission is also nice.

This was one of the top spots that I wanted to see on our trip and I wasn't disappointed. It is visually stunning and located in an area of the Burren that has incredible rock formations. Incredible to think how old this tomb is and about how people back then were able to create the monument.

this is in the middle of nowhere - in the middle of the burren. but it was really worth the visit. the landscape is amazing and the dolmen is very interesting to see. It isn't large, but very impressive.