stones historical ireland

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....

A small, rounded stone decorated with incised curvilinear ornament in the Celtic La Tene style. It probably dates to the last few centuries B.C. and was probably ritual in purpose. Together with the stone at Turoe, Co. Galway (q.v.), it is one of the best of the Celtic decorated stones of Europe....

St Vauk or Beoc's Stone, a huge boulder on which the Saint is said to have floated across the Irish Sea in the 6th century....

An early Christian pillar stone which may have formed the shaft of a 9th century High Cross.
On the south-western face are panels with interlacing, a praying figure, and cross and Saints Paul and Anthony in the Desert.

On the north-east face are panels with interlacing, four animals and facing upwards, a boat with four oarsmen (representing, perhaps, Christ stilling the Waves)....

A standing stone, 17 feet high, looking almost like a modern piece of sculpture.
An ogham inscription, possibly added later, reads MAQI-DECCEDDAS AVI TURANIAS (Of the son of Deich descendant of Torainn).- To no one is really sure what the scription on the stones means or who was Deich or Torainn.

As the stone is standing on private land, visitors will be asked to pay 2euro to the land owner to see the stone....

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...

A church, built around 1200, which served as an auxiliary to the Augustinian Priory of Mohill. The church has simple but attractive east and south lancet windows. The moulding on the outside of the east window ends with two upturned heads.

The plain north doorway was inserted in the 15th century. Beside the entrance to the graveyard an Ogham stone has been re-erected - it is the only one in Co. Leitrim. All that can be read of the inscription is the name of the person commemorate...

A standing stone which tradition associates with the death of CuChulainn, the legendary hero of the old Irish saga, the Tain Bo Cuailgne. When CuChulainn was dying of his wounds which he got while trying to ward off the army of Queen Maeve of Connacht single-handed, he tied himself to this stone. while he was still alive his enemies kept their distance. It was only when a raven came and rested on his shoulder that they knew he was dead. The scene is commemorated in a statue standing in the G...

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...