The one at Garranes in County Cork is a quiet example of this widespread prehistoric phenomenon, sitting in the landscape much as it has for perhaps three or four thousand years, its purpose still generating more debate than certainty among archaeologists.

A fulacht fia typically survives as a low, horseshoe-shaped mound of burnt and shattered stone, usually found near a water source. The working theory, supported by numerous experimental reconstructions, is that these were cooking sites: stones would be heated in a fire, then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it rapidly to the boil. The cracked, heat-spent stones were discarded to the sides, building up the characteristic mound over repeated use. Some researchers have proposed alternative functions, including brewing, hide-working, or bathing, and the honest answer is that the sites were probably not all used for the same purpose. The Bronze Age date assigned to most examples places them roughly between 2000 and 500 BC, though some are earlier or later. Cork is particularly dense with them, making Garranes one of many such sites in the county rather than an isolated curiosity.