Gap of the North, written by Noreen Cunningham and Pat Maginn and published in 2001 by O’Brien Press is an excellent handbook for the tourist and the local enthusiast alike.
It is described as the guide to the archaeology and folklore of Armagh, Down, Louth and Monaghan and it fulfils that function excellently in a handy softback volume. Suffice it to say that Newry Journal considers it an indispensable reference for many of our articles.
It comes with a handy map showing all 48 monument types and gives the monument type, location, grid reference and status of each, before describing it in detail and recounting associated folklore.
The project was initiated and supervised by Anthony Cranney who was also responsible for many of the photographs. If you want to visit all, you will also need the appropriate O.S. maps.
A few reservations only. The Crown Mound (31) is in private ownership and cannot be visited. This ought to be noted. I feel it would have been helpful if the access routes to mountain sites, like Clermont Cairn on Black Mountain had been marked. Perhaps a few such mountain trails could have been detailed.
But I’m nit-picking. It is a terrific handbook and great value at under