Follow the N81 from Dublin passed Hollywood and look out for a brown sign on the left hand side of the road saying "Piper's Stone Circles". It is possible to park right next to this sign. Take the path and turn right up the small hill at the end of the hedgerow.
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Known also and signposted as the "Piper's Stone Circles" Athgreany is a beautiful place. Once the home to sun worship, it sits secluded on the top of a knoll flanked on three sides by hills and by the flood plain on the fourth. Once off the road the track seems obscure, just a cart track and then to the right a well worn footpath runs up a hill. Following that (and my instincts for I had no map) as I crested the brow of the hill there it was, hidden until the last second. The huge rounded light grey stones that make up this circle shining in the sun light. There is a massive lichen covered outlyer down the slope. This is heavily carved on its top. Around the base of this is a ring of yellow/red quartz stones and a small ditch. This feature I later noted is common to all the stones here. When in use and looked after this place must have shone brilliantly in the sun.
You are secluded enough from the road here and the whole place is very peaceful. Sitting in the center of the circle I was overcome with a feeling of great energy in a most disturbing, yet wonderful way.
The Piper's reference is a typical Christianisation of the site. It relates to the tale of a piper (the outlier) and a group of maidens (the circle) that were petrified for dancing on the Sabbath.
Revisited to show a friend, an attempt (successful) to visit four circles in a day (Athgreany, Castleruddery, Boleycarrigeen & Broadleas (County Kildare)).
Once again I find myself back at Athgreany while motorbikes speed past at 100mph below.
I came here to try taking some different photos. To take these I put my camera on the tripod, set it to timer mode and held the camera as high up as possible to try and get a view from above. This technique works quite well and the beauty of the digital camera is that if it's no good I can delete it and try again.
Yep, back again. This circle is a great one for a quick visit with some friends. Once again at least two sheep skulls were lying around the circle .... what goes on here?
A wet and windy time was had here today. After the 'roundness' of Broadleas (County Kildare) the definite ritual feel to this circle is very clear. And yes, the skull was lying around too. We also noticed that the house in the valley to the east has some pentagrams and sigals painted upon it, too.
The drive down to County Carlow today was fairly nasty - all fog and cold - so we decided to stop off at Athgreany to enjoy it in the mist and wait for the weather to warm up a little.
It's amazing how the weather can change a place. Today, even though there was a hazy sun, the circle looked odd. It had an ethereal air to it, but it was somehow a sad place today.
As I drove past here a few weeks ago I saw that there was now an information board at the end of the little track that leads to the base of the hill, so I decided to stop by and check it out. It's not too impressive to be honest, but at least it does affirm to anyone wanting to come here that they can. However, to get here you still have to climb over a very rickety and dangerous gate! Surely the money would have been better spent providing better access and not teasing people from the road.
It's odd. but in all the times I have been here I have always ben rather lazy about it: I've never actually walked beyond the circle down the other side of the hill or up the hillside beyond. I remedied that today and took a look at the circle from the far slopes to the south. It looks much better from here and this really should be the way to bring people to the site. At the moment you walk up the hill and the circle is suddenly there. This gives you a lovely surprise, but it's a sudden hit that soon leaves you. Approaching from the south would give a much better sense of journey and arrival.
Back again. After Broadleas (County Kildare) Athgreany is a mixed bag. You can appreciate the views and its place in the landscape, but the circle is more ruinous. I really must come here for a sunrise one day this summer to see what it's like at dawn.
