Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Altar
Churchacres, County Roscommon, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Churchacres
- County
- Roscommon
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Altar
- Latest-edition OS map
- Altar (Site of)
- Coordinates
- 54.05888, -8.15598
- SMR number
- RO004-002001-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
On the N shore of Lough Meelagh (dims c. 2km E-W; c. 600m-1km N-S), c. 75m W of Kilronan church (RO004-003001-), on the S side of the Keadew-Ballyfarnon road and just E of St Lasair's holy well (RO004-002002-). An uninscribed stone, probably intended as a headstone and known locally as an altar, consists of a rectangular limestone slab (dims 1.8m x 1.05m; T 0.1m) supported by four corner stones (H c. 1m) on which water-rolled stones are placed. It was mistaken for a megalithic monument (Borlase 1897, vol. 1, 196), and was once on the N side of the road (OS Name Books). (Hayward 1955, 135; O'Connell 1988, 61)
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 24 August 2010
References
OSNB 25-inch. Ordnance Survey Name Books compiled in the course of the 1:2500 survey of Ireland. National Archives of Ireland.
O'Connell, M. 1988 An examination of how some Co. Roscommon holy wells feature in the cult of the holy well in Ireland. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society 7, 58-65.
Hayward, R. 1955 This is Ireland, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon. London. Arthur Barker.
Borlase, W.C. 1897 The Dolmens of Ireland, 3 vols. London. Chapman and Hall.
Nearby in the register
- Ritual site - holy wellunder 1 mi
- Bullaun stoneunder 1 mi
- Ritual site - holy tree/bushunder 1 mi
- Memorial stoneunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.