Aillwee Cave
The Burren, County Clare
In 1944 farmer Jacko McGann followed his dog into a hole in the Burren and found a cave system. He kept it secret for nearly 30 years, until he told cavers in 1973.
Read the full story, see it on the map, get directions and find what else is nearby in the free Hidden Britain Atlas map.
- When
- Found 1944
- Where
- 53.0880, -9.1440
- Group
- Caves & grottoes
Visiting
Open daily, with a birds of prey centre.

The Ledger of Lost Britain
The Romans arrived in AD 43. For most people that is where the history of Britain begins. But by the time the legions landed, people had already been living on these islands for thousands of years. They had hunted, farmed, mined flint, dragged stones across the country, raised a hill by hand, and buried their dead in great tombs. They left no written words. What they left was the ground itself. Every place in this book can be visited, or has been dug up, or is in a museum.
Nearby mysteries
- The Gleninsheen GorgetLost treasure · The Burren, County Clare · 2 miles away
- Doolin CaveCave or grotto · Doolin, County Clare · 9 miles away
- Kilmacduagh Round TowerTower or folly · Near Gort, County Galway · 11 miles away
- St Brigid's Well, LiscannorHoly well · Near the Cliffs of Moher, County Clare · 13 miles away
- Lynch's WindowExecution site · Market Street, Galway · 13 miles away
- Alice and Gwendoline CaveBigfoot & Hominids · Edenvale, near Ennis, County Clare · 18 miles away