An Amazing Experience: The Bonane Heritage Park

A 1.2 mile loop in County Kerry that takes visitors through 5,000 years of Irish history

Last Thursday, Gerhard and I were following our usual morning routine: sitting on the couch in front of a lovely fire blazing away in our kachelofen (tile oven). Flicking through his email, Gerhard noticed that a friend of his had organized a Saturday kayaking trip on Bantry Bay at Glengarriff, County Cork.

This is a place Gerhard had long wanted to explore in his kayak, so on the spur of the moment, we decided to make a weekend of it. I booked the Glengarriff Park Hotel for two nights, and we left Cloghane the next day for County Cork.

Gerhard enjoyed his kayaking trip and I enjoyed exploring Glengarriff and the surrounding area. The entire weekend was cloudy and gloomy, but visibility was good, it wasn’t particularly cold, and—most importantly—there was no wind or rain.

(I had to laugh to myself because at least FOUR different Irish people I encountered that weekend mentioned how ‘fine’ the weather was. Looking ruefully at the gloomy skies, I nodded in agreement because any day in Ireland in which it is not raining can rightfully be deemed fine.)

As far as I am concerned, however, the most interesting thing we did that weekend was visit the Bonane Heritage Park on our way home Sunday morning. The park is located at the southern tip of County Kerry, between Glengarriff and Kenmare, and consists of a circular, 1.2 mile (two kilometer) pathway that takes visitors past archeological sites spanning 5,000 years of Irish history.

As an American who is impressed by 200 or 300 years of history, it amazed me to see features that stretched from the late Stone Age (3,000-2,000 BCE) to the mid-19th century in such a small, contained area. Not to mention that the rural area is astonishingly beautiful.

Gerhard and I headed out on the well-maintained gravel path, thoroughly enjoying the spectacular November scenery along the way. Both of us were struck at the very beginning by an amazing European mountain ash tree, bereft of leaves but bursting with bright red berries.

We also loved this vine-sculptured stone.

And this lovely little waterfall.

The history of Bonane begins in the late Stone Age, with a stone circle and a bullaun stone—both built around the same time as the pyramids of Giza! Stonehenge was also built during this time.

Late Stone Age (Neolithic): 3,000-2,000 BCE

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Stone circle

Stone circles are common throughout Ireland, but the greatest concentration of them—over 100—is found in southern Kerry/western Cork.

Bonane’s stone circle is positioned so that it aligns with important solar and lunar events. For example, on the 21st of June (Summer Solstice), the rising sun aligns at precisely 6:40 am to shine through the two entrance stones of the circle. And the stone circle’s altar, which consists of three large flagstones that stand high up on the horizon, marks the most southerly rising point of the moon.

Once every 18.6 years, the angle at which the moon rises coincides exactly with the angle of the nearby mountains, making the moon appear to climb the mountains as it ascends. This phenomenon is called the Major Standstill of the Moon.

Bullaun stone

Gerhard and I learned that a bullaun stone generally consists of a large, flat-topped rock into which people have carved a basin-like shape called a bullaun. The original purpose of such basins is unclear, but recent research in the Bonane area suggests that they may have been used to mark astrological alignments. Ancient peoples may also have deposited offerings, such as milk and grain, in them during religious ceremonies.

Bullauns normally face upwards, but the one at Bonane has been carved on the side of an upright standing stone.

The information at the site explains that bullaun stones are also known as cursing stones or curing stones. For example, people believed that if you wash your hands in the rainwater that accumulates in the basin, it would cure your hands of warts.

Bronze Age 2,500-500 BCE

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Standing stone

Standing stones are the most numerous megalithic monuments found in Ireland. They vary in date from about the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age and are thought to have been erected to commemorate significant events, mark burial sites, or serve as land boundaries. Some standing stones also align with celestial events, which suggests they were used to observe astronomical phenomena.

The stones are set vertically into the ground and are generally uneven and squared, often tapering toward the top. Single standing stones are called menhirs and are something of a curiosity because little is known about their intended function.

The standing stone at Bonane is single and not very tall—about three feet? (Most standing stones I’ve seen in Ireland have been at least five feet tall. For example, see A Walk in My Neighborhood.) Interestingly, visitors have turned it into a kind of shrine by leaving coins on top.

Fulacht fiad

A fulacht fiadh is an ancient type of outdoor cooking site commonly found in Ireland. The word fulacht refers to a pit or trough into which people poured clean water and then added stones that had been heated in a fire. Once the water began to boil, they added meat, such as a joint of venison, to the simmering water to cook. Meat cooked in this way was likely to have been quite tender because it cooked so slowly.

Some researchers think that fulacht fiadhs might also have been used as saunas or to process leather. Others think they may have been used for ritual purposes. For example, the fulacht fiadh at Bonane is in close proximity to the stone circle; it is also positioned directly on the alignment of sunrise at the summer solstice.

Crannogs

The word crannog comes from the Irish word for tree. It consists of a dwelling built in a lake on a natural or artificially created island. The dwelling was traditionally constructed of layers of materials such as mud, brushwood and stones set inside a palisade of closely-set wooden stakes. These consolidated the structure and acted as a natural barrier.

Crannogs were accessed either by a small boat or by stepping stones placed just under the surface of the water where they were not readily visible to strangers. Excavations show they were occupied from the Bronze Age up to the 13th century.

The crannog in the Bonane Heritage Park is a replica and quite small. (An adult could not stand up in it.) But it gives visitors a good idea of what such structures might have been like.

Iron Age 500 BCE-400 CE

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Ring fort

Ring forts are a type of defensive settlement in Ireland that were built in the early medieval period (5th–12th centuries). They typically consist of a large circular plot of land on which people built their homes. For protection, they built an embankment or stone wall around the perimeter of the entire property. Around this embankment, they also frequently dug a deep perimeter ditch called a foss.

The ring fort in the park is the largest of approximately 20 ring forts in the Bonane Valley. Its position and spectacular views suggest that it was once home to a chieftain or some other important member of the community.

Although primarily used for defensive purposes, the Bonane ring fort may also have had a spiritual significance because its entrance is situated toward the sun’s position on the winter solstice (December 21st).

The ancient belief that these structures are sacred places was handed down from generation to generation. Over time, people came to believe that interfering with any part of the structure would bring them bad luck or even death.

During the Great Famine, however, some desperate people dared to defy this superstition and used the inside of the fort as a seedbed for their potato crops. Their hope was that the potatoes planted on virgin soil would not be destroyed by blight. The remains of the potato ridges, or lazy beds, are still visible in the fort today.

In addition, people sometimes buried infants who died before they could be baptized within the ring forts. They were forced to do this because the Christian church denied a sanctified burial to anyone who had not been baptized. Apparently, there is evidence of this within the Bonane fort as well.

The 19th Century

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Ruined cottage

The Bonane Heritage Park also contains the ruins of a small, stone, one-room house that was built in the early 19th century. You can’t quite see from the picture above, but the house sits in a low, boggy, gloomy depression that made Gerhard and me wonder what on earth the original builders were thinking of when they located their house there. (It must almost always have been wet and frequently flooded.)

The visitor information explains that the roof would most likely have been thatched and an open fire would have been used for heating and cooking. It also says that people would have brought their animals into the cottage at night during the winter and that a small garden would have supplied potatoes and vegetables to feed the family, with hens for eggs and a cow for milk—if the family could afford it.

Visitor information explains that the last recorded occupant of the cottage is Maureen O’Shea, who raised six children there. During the Great Irish Famine (1845-1852), two sons and three daughters emigrated to America, but one son remained. Apparently, O’Shea family descendants are still living in the area today.

If you go

The Bonane Heritage Park is located on N71, just a 12-minute drive south of Kenmare.

Kenmare is one of my favorite towns in Ireland, so be sure to save some time to explore it as well. Also be sure to visit the standing stones in Kenmare when you are there—they are just at the edge of the town center.

The park is open year-round, 24 hours a day.