Grange Stone Circle

Set near the shores of Lough Gur in Co. Limerick, the stone circle at Grange is the largest and finest in Ireland. Built around 2,100 BC by the Bronze Age people living around the lake, Grange Stone Circle is massive, comprised of 113 large stones set upright, half buried into the ground.

Grange Circle is almost certainly a religious site, though little is known of the precise rituals and practices. In all likelihood they took place at dawn on a midsummer's morning. For it is at this time, when the first rays of light break over the horizon, that the sun aligns directly with the narrow passageway that opens into the centre of the circle.

Scientists continually struggle to comprehend the life, rituals, and beliefs of the Lough Gur people. Pottery and flint arrowheads found within the site are typical Bronze age relics. And human bounds were found in several places within the circle, leading to speculation that the site may have been used for some sort of funeral ritual.