They say you are never more than 115 mile from the sea in Ireland, so as the magpie flies, a straight-on walker might have been midway across the country using the days and energy required for a single loop. One mischief is that things are much farther apart than they seem on the map. Reaching the remnants of Stone Age, Bronze Age and early Christian occupation requires hiking not strolling. The idea of saving these structures for posterity is a comparatively new one, and many ancient markers were dismantled for use as building stones or burned for lime to fertilize the fields. What remains qualify both as archaeological treasures and Found Art.
Stone circles are typical of the southwest.
They were the center of pagan activity for the winter solstice, and some have a center grave marked by a boulder. Enormous chunks of limestone poised on the crests of hills or plunged into streams are seen as evidence that Finn McCool or the great Cuchulainn Himself tossed them about. Obviously they were handy ammunition whether used against giants or blackbirds. On the other hand they could have been left behind by glaciers. Ruins run the gamut from primitive to the late 19th century.