You’d be surprised just how many prehistoric sites you’ll find in Ireland, from stone circles to dolmens to standing stones to tombs. On our way back west from Dublin this summer, we drove through County Carlow, a county I’ve never been in before and one I know next to nothing about.

The smallest county in Ireland, Carlow is often overlooked when it comes to the bigger and more populated counties surrounding it. However, we made two stops in Carlow to finally say we’ve been in the county.

Our first stop was unplanned. While driving, we saw a historical sign (these ones are brown) indicating a dolmen (also known as a portal tomb) was coming up. Dolmens come in all shapes and sizes; and while we wanted to stop, we feared we might miss it entirely, as some dolmens can be fairly small and easy to miss when driving, as signs can fade over time or disappear entirely.

This was far from the case for this dolmen. Brownshill Dolmen is perhaps the largest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve come across my fair share of them in my life. The capstone (the stone on top), weighs a whopping 150 metric tons and is claimed to be the heaviest capstone in Europe.

A national monument, this portal tomb is more than visible from the road, surrounded by green grass. While the portal tomb hasn’t actually been excavated, archaeologists date this tomb to between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C.E.

It’s a magnificent site to see and, should you be driving from Dublin to Cork or from Dublin to anywhere in West Ireland, be sure to get off the highway and take the road through Carlow to see this impressive monument. Then head into the town of Carlow for drinks or dinner by the water.

— Aoife O’Riordan, associate editor