Bullaun stone, Carrigagown, Co. Tipperary

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Holy Sites & Wells

Bullaun stone, Carrigagown, Co. Tipperary

A large granite conglomerate boulder sits in the grounds of a private house at Skehanagh in County Tipperary, far from the field where it was originally found.

That field, in the adjoining townland of Carrigagown North, lay beside the ruins of an old building locally believed to have once been a church, which is precisely the kind of association that makes this stone worth pausing over. Bullaun stones are boulders, typically of considerable size, that carry one or more artificial cup-shaped hollows ground into their surface; they are found across Ireland, most often near early ecclesiastical sites, and their exact purpose remains a matter of some debate, with suggested uses ranging from the practical grinding of grain or pigments to ritual and votive functions.

What gives this particular site an additional layer of interest is that it did not yield just one such stone. A second bullaun was discovered at the same location and has since been relocated to the grounds of the Roman Catholic church in the nearby village of Kilbarron, also known as Newchapel. The two stones now sit in entirely different places, separated from each other and from the field where both were found. The possible church ruin beside which they were originally located has not been formally identified, but the combination of ecclesiastical association and a pair of bullaun stones in close proximity suggests this corner of Tipperary once held rather more significance than the current landscape might imply.

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