stones historical ireland

Seven of the eight Ogham stones in this group were discovered in a souterrain at Coolmagort in the nineteenth century and have been set up on this site close to Dunloe Castle. The tallest stone is 8 feet high. There is also a prostrate slab taken from the grounds of nearby Kilbonane church.

Ogham stones were frequently used as lintels in the construction of underground passages. Because of their long protection from exposure, the Dunloe inscriptions are unusually well preserved. A...

Ardmore is the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland. St. Declan lived in the period 350 -450 AD and christianised this area before the coming of St. Patrick. St. Declan's feast day is "Pattern Day" every 24th of July....

About 5km out on the Ballinamore road is the Killycluggin Stone. The original or this roadside replica is in the National Museum in Dublin.

The ornamentation is from the early Iron Age and contains incised La Tene motifs. La Tene relates to the Celtic culture in Europe from about the 5th to the 1st century BC which was characterised by curvilinear decoration like that found on the Killycluggin Stone.

The first discoveries of this style of decoration were made at La Tene, Lac de N...

Though ignored by some guide books, this is a very fine megalith which unfortunately loses much of its impressiveness on account of the roadside hedge which threatens to envelop it. It has long been neglected and abused; a photograph taken in 1914 shows it defaced with auctioneers; posters; latterly it has become a target for religious graffiti. The bulky granite capstone is 8 feet long and up to 5 feet thick and rests, somewhat precariously it would appear, on four of the six basalt uprig...

This little known and somewhat difficult to find monument, 'Diarmuid and Grainne's Bed', is located on a farm 1 mile south of Carrowkeel (alias Kerrykeel) village and about 1/4 mile to the east of the road to Rathmelton. The portal stones are a well matched pair some 6 feet high, supporting the front edge of a craggy, cup-marked capstone which has been slightly displaced...

This stone, about three feet high, was removed here to the grounds of a private house from its original position beside the Rath of Feerwore some miles away. The lowest portion has no decoration; in the middle is a Greek step-pattern. The top half of the stone is covered in a profusion of curvilinear ornament in relief which is typical of the Celtic art style known as La Tene.

It is the finest example in Europe of a series of presumably ritual stones decorated with Celtic ornament, so...

Cloughmore, a 30-ton Granite boulder lies on the Mountain Ridge approximately 1000 feet above Rostrevor village. Geolgists describe Cloughmore as a spectacular deposit from the Ice Age, but local folklore has much more colourful story that relates to Finn McCool (the legendary Irish Giant). The giant got into a fight with his archrival Ruscaire , another giant, and they threw bolders at each other. This is how Cloughmore arrived at this spot....

A squared pillarstone of monumental appearance, 7 feet high and 3 feet wide. its south-eastern face is decorated with a profusion of cup-marks, many with single and multiple surrounding rings, a characteristic motif of the Galician or rock art of the Bronze Age. The stone is in a field behind a farmhouse, 1 mile north-north-east of Muff, to the west of the coast road to Carrowkeel and Moville....

What's New - * Egyptian Pyramid Stones - The best known hieroglyphs tell of the Gods and History of Ancient Egypt. e.g. Ankh, Scarab, Eye of Horus etc.

* Celtic Empire Bowls Isu Pots, makers of the now famous Celtic Ogham Stones, are developing a range of low fired, smokey pottery.
The style and decoration is based on Celtic, Iron Age La Tene style decoration. We call them Celtic Empire Bowls....

Among the few relics which Galway retains from the days of the horse are Jostle Stones. These are small conical stones, usually placed at corners of narrow lanes and gateways with the purpose of preventing carriages from cutting corners too fine.

These jostle stones helped save both carriage wheel and corner from damage. One such Jostle Stone can be found at the corner of Easons, in church lane. Its matching partner has long since disappeared....