Poulnabrone Dolmen

One of the best Dolmens to go and visit, there were many people there visiting this site. It was quite busy. A steady flow of cars and people coming and going. I had thought that this Dolmen was buried under earth and stone at one time. When I was there, I met a gentleman who was the OPW care taker of this Dolmen, he told me it was never buried and was always left as we see it from when it was built. It was great to talk with him and he told me a bunch of information about the Dolmen. I was very disappointed to hear about how many people come there and have no respect for this site. There people who write graffiti on it, they try to damage it. They light fires in it and damage the stones. The worst is all the garbage people leave behind, especially cigarette butts. I ask you people to take care of this site and other places and leave them as you find it!! Clean up and take your garbage with you. Have some respect for this site. 😦

Extremely interesting place, not only from historical, but from geological point of views. Let's say, the dolmen itself maybe less interesting then the surrounding area, the collapsed sinkhole, the eroded stones, and the very unique vegetation.

This is really cool! See the burren landscape and this 5000+ year-old tomb all together! There's also a craftsman selling his wears at the entrance to the parking lot. He has some really cool stuff at great prices. Definitely come and check out this place!

This was really interesting but it was cold and raining and we didn't spend much time there. It's a small hike and it's free which is unusual. But the history was extremely interesting!

Wonderful visit inside the Burren to reach for the poulnabrone dolmen There are several information points along the short way(on foot) between the parking and the Dolmen It's an easy walk but mind your steps Not suitable for baby strollers There isn't any ticket

Loved this 4,000-6,000 year old structure as much as the surrounding nature - the latter is full of singing birds and moo’ing cows. Beautiful at sunset. The photographs do not give it a full credit.

This is an amazing historical place, there is a parking nearby, and a short walk to the site. Loved the nature around the site.

We got there early and we're the only ones there! About 20 mins after exploring the area 2 busses pulled in!

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.

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.

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.

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.