Head North along N4 towards Sligo. At Castlebaldwin turn right and follow main road through Bow & Arrow crossroads, through Killadoon crossroads. Take first turn after Killadoon on left (on the steep hill). Continue for 1 kilometre and entrance to Gyreum is on your right.
Celebrating the Solstice - a few daysof understanding and directly experiencing the extraordinary cairn alignments of Sligo.
Thursday 21 June Arrive by 8pm at the Gyreum, a cairn shaped, Solstice aligned ecolodge in South Sligo. Mary Quinlan will introduce the notion of Solstice in relation to the cairn dwellers of 6 or 7 Millennia back. Have a light supper and then if we are lucky watch the Solstice sun go down to the North West.
Friday 22 June The hardy can rise for the very early dawn. In the morning Mary continues to elucidate on the Megalithic and we shall go visit Heapstown Cairn between breakfast and lunch. In the afternoon hike to the Labby Rock on the Plateau where the mythic Battle of Moytura took place, sight where the Tuath De Danaan defeated the Fomorians. Sumptuous dinner back at Gyreum.
Saturday 23 June After Breakfast , Kildare man Robert Hensey now residing in south Sligo and currently doing his PHD in Ritual Use of Passage Cairns and a Guide at Carrowmore, expert in the the stones, cairns, dolmens and alignments of Sligo gives an introductory talk on the stone age era, this area, its people, how they were shaped by the landscape and how they chose to leave their mark upon it. Visit to Carrowmore, Europe's largest expanse of megalithic remains. Then lunch/ picnic at 5000 year old Oyster midden before a climb up to the summit of Knocknarae, Queen Maeve’s Cairn atop. Return to Gyreum for sumptuous, locally sourced dinner and some musical entertainment after at the Bogside Inn.
Sunday 24 June After breakfast Sam Moore, a great expert on ritual use of the ancient sites of Sligo, gives a talk on Heapstown Cairn, the largest Cairn outside of Meath. Lunch at and Sam's explanation the extraordinary high light of the weekend: Carrowkeel, atop the Bricklieve Mountains, if it rains lunch within them. Hike about the hills and home.
Venue & Times
The Gyreum, Castlebaldwin, Co. Sligo
Thursday 21 June - arrive from 8pm onwards
Please note: you will be visiting many ancient sites so please bring waterproof shoes/boots & raincoat. A car pool will be organised.
Accommodation Package
Total price including expert guides, meals and pub taxi transport €300 each in shared dorm space €400 for single room. Bring your own wine.
The Gyreum - EU Flower Accredited
The Gyreum, a magnificent replication of a hundred foot wide wooden ring fort is located above the shores of Lough Arrow in rural Sligo 6km from Castlebaldwin. It is itself a new wonder at the junction of some ancient ley lines. This is certainly an ecolodge with a difference.
Its 360◦ views look out over 5 counties and it is aligned along three vital solar events. The southeast faces the dawn winter solstice over Moytura where the mythic battle between light and dark took place way back. The southwest is centred along the winter dusk solstice at Carrowkeel. The northwest faces the summer sunset solstice behind Queen Maeve’s supposed tomb atop Knocknarae. The Gyreum mimics Maeve’s tomb. www.smirsh.com/gyreum
