This murky image was taken at Uaimh na gCait (often bastardised into English as Oweynagat) located at Cruachain in Roscommon and its one of the more famous ancient âcrossing pointsâ to the Otherworld â a list predominantly derived from literary (i.e. not historical) sources. The site is definitely worth a visit as long as you also visit the nearby Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, and youâre nimble enough to get through the narrow entrance and clamber down into the main cavern.
Over the last forty years or so however, itâs worth noting the development of misinformed fantasy-style narratives around the site and its function (e.g. the Entrance to Hell, the home of the Morrigan, dun-dun-dun!). As a result, you have to take most of the online references with liberal doses of salt.
This pattern of what we generically call âTourism Mythologyâ is one that weâre seeing increasingly across the country and its probably something you should keep an eye out for if youâre interested in authentic Irish culture.
Iâll probably be covering the issue in VĂłg (the Irish Imbas newsletter) at some point in the near future. Â