Grange Stone Circle Lough Gur

Just off the R512 roadway in County Limerick sits an unassuming gem. It’s the largest stone circle in Ireland. Visitors could easily drive by this hidden wonder. There are no fees and no barriers and everyone is free to walk right into the circle. There is a locked metal box at the entrance if you wish to donate.  

The national monument consists of 113 contiguous standing stones set in a near-perfect circle at 150 feet (46 meters) in diameter. It’s an embarked stone circle, or henge, which means the stones sit against the bank. Henges were built during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

Grange was excavated in 1939. Thousands of shards of broken beaker pots, animal bones, and other objects suggest the circle was used for sacred rituals. Beaker pots were bell-shaped vessels used in the Bronze Age and found in many Neolithic burial sites across Ireland.