Dunmore Caves

Dunmore Cave
Dearc Fearna
Cave entrance
Location	Castlecomer Road, County Kilkenny
Depth	150 feet (46 m)
Length	310 m (1,030 ft)
Geology	Carboniferous Limestone
Entrances	1
Access	Show cave access only

Dunmore Cave (from Irish Dún Mór, meaning "great fort") is a limestone solutional cave in Ballyfoyle, County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is formed in Lower Carboniferous (Viséan) limestone of the Clogrenan Formation. It is a show cave open to the public, particularly well known for its rich archaeological discoveries and for being the site of a Viking massacre in 928.

The caves are located to the east of and close to the N78 Kilkenny–Castlecomer road and about 11 km (6.8 mi) north of Kilkenny City. The entrance is in the townland of Mohill, where a tourist centre has been established at the site. Overlooking the River Dinan valley, it is found in an isolated outcrop of limestone on the Castlecomer Plateau.

Dunmore is not one of the largest of Ireland's caves. It contains just a quarter of a mile of passages and at its deepest point, it descends to 150 ft (46 m), but it possesses some fine calcite formations. The most spectacular is the Market Cross, a distinctly cross-shaped column over 19 ft (5.8 m) high.

Dunmore Cave was designated a National Monument by the Commissioners of Public Works in 1944, but development as a show cave with visitor centre and tours didn't begin until 1967, at the behest of respected archaeologist and spelaeologist J. C. Coleman. The cave was closed in 2000 for archaeological work and redevelopment, and reopened in 2003.

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Wikipedia