Case file · Folklore / legend
Oweynagat, the Cave of the Cats
A cave at Rathcroghan, County Roscommon, the royal seat of Queen Medb, believed to be an entrance to the Otherworld, 'Ireland's gate to Hell', from which monsters poured out at Samhain.
800 CE · 53.80, -8.30 · status: legend
The account
A man-made passage with lintels bearing ogham inscriptions leads into a natural limestone cave about 37 m long. Medieval tales make it the dwelling of the war goddess the Morrígan and the source of destructive birds, pigs and wildcats.
The sceptical view
An archaeological site whose legends belong to early Irish literature; no beings, but a powerful ritual place.