Penitential station

The National Monuments Service's description

Monument placed on the Register of Historic Monuments on the 17/02/1977. Extract from Iris Oifigiúil 25th February 1977. Classification of this monument has been problematical with several different classifications proposed for this monument. Described as an 'Earthwork' on the Register of Historic Monuments in 1977. Various classifications have been suggested for this earthwork such as a possible mound or barrow, a hut site, an artificial mound or site of a summerhouse/gazebo.
In 1962 this site was described as Lack Loman which preserved the 'memory of St. Lomán who founded a monastery here (Portloman WM011-145----) and a church on Inis Mór, alias Church Island (WM012-167----), near the E shore of the lake (Lough Owel)' (Killanin and Duignan 1962, 3810) In 1969 the monument was inspected by H. A Wheeler who described the monument as consisting of a small roughly square-shaped mound (approx. H 1m; 6m x 6m) enclosed by an earth and stone bank with doorway or entrance gap (Wth 0.85m) at NW corner which led him to suggest that this earthwork may have have been the collapsed remains of a square-shaped hut site or house. He recorded that the place name of the monument suggested that it might have been the burial place of Saint Lomán a disciple of St Patrick who founded a monastery at Portloman (SMR File 31/10/1969). Lomán of Lough Owel (Lough Uair) was the son of Oireannan and was associated with a church (WM012-167----) on Church Island (Inis Mór) and with a church at Portloman (Teach/Port Lomáin) also possibly known as Teach Mic Luim (Ó Riain 1992, 401-02). According to Ó Riain (1992, 402) Leac Lomáin marked the start of the station formerly performed at his church (WM011-145----). Portloman church (WM011-145---) lies 800m to the NE and the nearest shoreline of Lough Owel lies 700m to the E. Ringfort (WM011-143----) lies 100m to SE.
Surveyed in 2012 and described by McGuinness (2012, 41) as following: ‘This site, marked Lack Loman (Leac Loman, St. Loman's Stone) on OS 6" map, has been identified as a barrow in the RMP. It comprises a naturally shaped, dished flagstone, surrounded by an oval, penannular bank (Diam. 7m NE-SW x 6m NW-SE) up to 0.5m high, fenced off from the surrounding field and heavily overgrown with thick grass. An entrance passage 0.61m in width runs for a distance of 1.8m from NW perimeter to flagstone at centre of monument. There are no grounds for identifying this monument as a barrow, tumulus or any other kind of prehistoric burial. The penannular bank, which probing shows to contain much stone beneath the sod, surrounds what was an important station for pilgrims visiting church of Portloman (WM011-145----) in 1830s (OSL 1837, Vol. 1, 176-80) and has the appearance of a pilgrims' cairn. According to local information gathered by the writer, travellers used to visit the stone up until c. 10 years ago and there was a tradition of pilgrims leaving stones at it’.

See attached plan of monument surveyed and drawn by the ASI.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by David McGuinness.

Date of upload: 25 April 2016

References

McGuinness, D. 2012 The prehistoric burial mounds and related monument of County Westmeath. Part I - Preliminary account of the monuments in the Lough Owel Area (Barony of Corkaree and part of Barony of Moyashel & Magheradernon). Unpublished survey funded by Westmeath County Council in association with Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society.

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

OSL - Ordnance Survey Letters. Letters written by members of the Ordnance Survey's 'Topographical Department' (T. O'Conor, A. O'Curry, E. Curry, J. O'Donovan and P. O'Keeffe) sent to headquarters from the field (1834-41). MSS in Royal Irish Academy.

Killanin, M.M. and Duignan, M.V. 1962 Shell Guide to Ireland. London. Ebury Press.