Standing stone

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, 20m N of the R512, 116m NE of townland boundary with Tynacocka. Enclosures (LI039-116/001002-) lie 195m to the NE. Not marked on OSi historic maps. Identified during work associated with the Bórd Gáis Éireann Curraleigh West-Limerick gas pipeline. Excavated by Barra Ó Donnabháin in 1986 (Ó Donnabháin 1986, 23) and summarised as following; ‘During the fencing of the corridor the stone remained 3m from the fence line. A 4m x 4m cutting opened around the stone revealed a very narrow socket covered by modern pebble packing to counteract erosion by cattle. The socket was only 12cm wider than the stone at its widest point and was 45cm deep. Topsoil was exceptionally thin on this site and a thin layer of mixed soil beneath it, found in most of the area opened, yielded a small yellow glass bead. Other finds were all of relatively modern date.’ Ó Donnabháin recorded that the stone was ‘long and thin, and is very neatly quarried’ and stated that it may be modern scratching stone (Gowen 1988, 142). Post-1700 standing stone probably erected as a livestock scratching post visible on Google Earth orthoimages.

See attached Google earth orthoimage taken 28/06/2018

Compiled by: Fiona Rooney

Date of upload: 8 April 2021

References

Gowen, M. 1988 Three Irish gas pipelines: new archaeological evidence in Munster. Bray. Wordwell.

Ó Donnabháin, B. 1987 Ballygrennan, Standing Stone. In C. Cotter (ed.), Excavations 1986: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 23, No. 39. Dublin. Wordwell.