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Cave or grotto

Oweynagat, the Cave of the Cats

Rathcroghan, County Roscommon

Ireland's gateway to the Otherworld.

Oweynagat is a narrow cave at Rathcroghan, the ancient royal seat of Connacht. In legend it was the entrance to the Otherworld, from which monsters, birds and wild pigs poured out every Samhain, the festival that became Halloween.

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When
Ancient
Where
53.8030, -8.3070
Group
Caves & grottoes

Visiting

Guided tours from the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre in Tulsk.

Cover of The Ledger of Lost Britain by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

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.

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