Standing stone

The National Monuments Service's description

At the S edge of the Rathcroghan plateau, and on the summit of the mound of ring-barrow (RO022-057046-). Traditionally it was thought to mark the burial place of Daithaí, nephew of Niall of the Nine Hostages and the last of the early mythological High Kings of Ireland (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 1, 85; Gormley 1989, 9, 10). The stone is known as An Coirthe Dearg – the red pillar stone (Kavanagh 2013, 109). The stone fell in the mid-19th century and was re-erected, and its base was investigated in 1913. It is a siltstone upright (dims 1.35m x 0.25m; max. H 1.83m) aligned N-S and with a crest sloping down to the N. (Knox, 1914a, 35-6; Herity 1983, 132; 1984, 134; Waddell 1983, 29-31; 1987-8; 1988, 10-12)

This is a National Monument in state ownership: No. 473

See the attached view taken from the W.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010
Amended: 29 July, 2013

References

Gormley, M. (compiler) 1989 Tulsk parish in historic Maigh Aí. Aspects of its history and folklore. Author

Knox, H.T. 1914 Ruins of Cruachain Ai. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 44, 1-50.

Herity, M. 1984 A survey of the royal site of Cruachain in Connacht, 2. Prehistoric monuments. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 114, 125-35.

Herity, M. 1983 A survey of the royal site of Cruachain in Connacht, 1. Introduction, the monuments and topography. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 113, 121-42.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1931 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Roscommon collected during the progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1837. Bray.

Waddell, J. 1987-8 Excavations at Daithi's Mound, Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon. Journal of Irish Archaeology 4, 23-36.

Waddell, J. 1988 Rathcroghan in Connacht. Emania 5, 5-18.