Standing stone

The National Monuments Service's description

Site of standing stone which has been removed, in pasture on a gently W facing slope of a low knoll 330m W of Lough Gur and within a cluster of prehistoric monuments. Standing stone known as 'Ardaghlooda' (LI032-010002-) stands 100m to NE, an earthwork (LI032-298----) lies 90m to NNW, stone circle (LI032-006----) 140m to SW of an ancient trackway or road (LI032-010001-) running N-S annotated 'Cladh na Leac' which runs 70m E of the standing stone. Not indicated on OSi historic maps and it is not visible on aerial orthoimages. Described by Crofton Croker (1833, 107-8) as following; 'About one hundred and sixty yards in a north-east direction from the smallest circle (No. 3) [LI032-006----] is a single stone, marked B, The measurement of stone B is — Height 5 ft. 0 ins. [1.5m] Circumference, 17 ft. 6 ins. [5.3m] Breadth 6ft. 6ins. [2m] Thickness 4 ft 0 ins. [1.2m].
Lenihan (1866, 724) recorded that '150 paces north-east of this [LI032-006----) again, is a sunken "gowlaun" [gallán/gallaun/standing stone], about 4 feet [1.2m] high by six [1.8m] broad, quite rude'. This sunken stone was described by Lynch (1895, 300) as following; 'About two hundred and fifty yards [228m] to the north-east from the chief circle [LI032-005---] there was, until a few years ago, a sunken gallaun four feet high by six feet broad. Tradition states that this gallaun was the last stone of a large stone chair which once stood here'. Lynch (1913, 22) gave more details about this standing stone when he wrote that 'Between this pillar stone [LI032-010002-] and the stone circles (LI032-004001-/005/006----) was the dallan mentioned in that article, and the dimensions and distance of this stone from the stone circles are given by Crofton Croker, so that the position of it may now be accurately assigned. Edward FitzGerald told me that this dallan was the last stone of a stone chair, that his father had seen the stone chair before its destruction, and that he often spoke of it to this sons, and gave a description of it frequently'. The site of the removed standing stone was described by O'Kelly (1942, 46) as following; ‘Croker says that at a distance of 160 yards [146m] NE of Circle C there was a single standing stone. It was 5 ft [1.5m] high, 6½ ft [2m] broad and 4 ft [1.2m] thick and has since been removed’.

See attached Google Earth orthoimages and location map showing standing stone B taken from Croker 1833

Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan

Date of upload: 30 October 2020

References

Lenihan, M. 1866 Limerick: its history and antiquities.

Ó Ríordáin, S.P. 1951 Lough Gur excavations: the
great stone circle (B) in Grange townland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 54C, 37-74.

Lynch, J. F. 1895 Lough Gur. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 1, 241-258, 289-302.

O'Kelly, M.J. 1942-3 A survey of the antiquities in the barony of Small County, Co. Limerick. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 3, 75-97, 169-84, 222-46.

Croker, T.C. 1833 Druidical remains near Lough Gur,
Co. Limerick. Gentleman's Magazine (February
1833), 105–12.

Lynch, J.F. 1913 Antiquarian remains at Lough Gur. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 19, 8-22.