Kilclooney More

Kilclooney More (Irish: Cill Chluanadh Mhór,[3] meaning church of the pasture)[4] is a townland in the northwest of Ireland in coastal County Donegal.

Kilclooney More belongs to the low-lying land in the west of County Donegal that is prominent for its concentration of court and portal tombs.

In the Neolithic period this land was fertile due to a warmer and drier climate, supporting farming communities who crafted ceramics and built tombs which are still described as ‘magnificent’.

[1] The smaller portal tomb of Kilclooney More is located west of the R261, in a shallow basin north of the Abberachrin River.

The backstone in red Ardara granite stands in a stark contrast to the overall grey, it originates possibly from a cliffy extrusion 200 m south of the tomb.

[14] Multiple sherds of Neolithic pottery, all belonging to one quartz-tempered vessel with fine textures, were found in the larger chamber and are now in the possession of the National Museum of Ireland.

In consideration of this context, Arthur ApSimon estimates that portal tombs like those of Kilclooney More belong to a period from 5000 to 4800 BP, i.e. from ca.

Larger chamber of the eastern portal tomb in Kilclooney More with a capstone that has been described as ‘birdlike’ or ‘Concorde-like’ ( Dg. 70 ) [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Western portal tomb of Kilclooney More ( Dg. 68 )
18th-century drawing of the court tomb of Kilclooney More when the lintel was still in its original place ( Dg. 69 )
Dg. 70 with its NE-aligned larger chamber in front and its NNE-aligned smaller chamber in the background