Aideen's Grave is a collapsed megalithic dolmen located in the grounds of Howth Castle in north County Dublin, Ireland.[1]
The tomb is thought to date to around 2,500 BC, and is located on the lower slopes of the Hill of Howth, overlooked by cliffs named Muck Rock, and faces south-east. It is likely the large cap-stone was brough from the quartzite cliff nearby.[2] [3] The tomb is consists of two portal stones, an entrance stone and a collapsed colossal roof stone, which weighs an estimated 75 tonnes. The capstone is the second largest in Ireland after the one at Brownshill dolmen in County Carlow. The tomb has a single chamber.[4] The name Aideen is said to refer to Étaín, a figure in Irish mythology.[5] She is alternatively mentioned as the daughter or wife of Aengus.[6]
In 2024, calls were made by various politicians to make the tomb and surrounding area a national monument.[7]
The dolmen is the subject of a poem by Samuel Ferguson from 1858 named Aideen's Grave.[8] [9] [10] It is said that the poem came about through Ferguson's connection with Howth as well as his connection with the illustrator and antiquarian Margaret Stokes, who also lived nearby.