Killaclohane Dolmen: Milltown
“A feeling of infinite isolation and loneliness overcomes us in these places. The air seems to us to be thin, empty and silent…But then the greatness and the customs of a distant, forgotten time begin to speak. In the cromlechs and avenues we can trace as though in a skeleton the hieroglyphs of a life that once had meaning and significance…”
As this dolmen was a portal to the world of darkness and the dead, so too it serves today as a doorway to a lost and mythical past. Our cultural heritage has been evolving as long are there are people on this island. Our traditions have deep roots reaching back to the people who created the Killaclohane structure. Much has changed in the 6,000 years that have passed, but the unique musical heritage is a living link back through the centuries. Killaclohane Portal Tomb is a place where we can feel this link, a murmuring heartbeat deep beneath the surface that makes us who we are.
A visitor to Killaclohane will be immediately impressed by the location. It stands on a sweeping westward slope opening onto Castlemaine Harbour and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. To the north, the brooding outline of the Slieve Mish range dominates the skyline. The ancient promontory fort of Caherconree catches the eye and suggests this may have influenced the chosen site, within easy view of beacon or signal. Indeed, Caherconree can be picked out from all over the Kingdom, from Bin na Porte fort on Mount Brandon’s flank, to Kerryhead to the north, and south to the craggy peaks of the Macgillycuddys.
The dolmen, as well as a burial place, was also an instrument to study light and shade. The behaviour of light, the creation of shadow, and the basis of a sun calendar to predict times for sowing and harvest are all associated with the portal tomb.
The visitor is also impressed by the scale of the structure, with rocks of such size and weight built into a structure using methods not yet fully understood.
The deep spiritual response of the Neolithic builders to their environment is clear here. We recognise their awareness and response to mysteries of life, death, birth, spring and the sun’s movements. The solstices were sacred festivals as the sun, source of all warmth and light, was the centre of all worship. At these times, people would surrender themselves in worship to this inexhaustible fountain of light. The sunrise, the returning strength after the winter solstice and the glorious Midsummer Day strengthened the conviction that light and life were always victorious in the battle against darkness and death.
This sun-centred faith recognised a father, a god-head working behind and through the light; a son, god of light and fire, and a third divinity present throughout nature. This ready affinity with Christian theology helps explain the smooth transition from druidism to Christianity. Scholars agree that Ireland is unique in that this transition was without struggle or antagonism.
So we find ourselves today at the Killaclohane Dolmen and we are standing in a river of time- spiritually and culturally. What better way to begin our celebration of music and dance than to return to the source.