Megalithic structure, An Port, Dún Fionnachaidh, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Megalithic Tombs

Megalithic structure, An Port, Dún Fionnachaidh, Co. Donegal

In the townland of An Port in County Donegal, two weathered standing stones mark what may be the last remnants of an ancient megalithic structure.

First documented on the 1847-9 Ordnance Survey six-inch map, these parallel stones stand 1.3 metres apart, aligned roughly north-northwest to south-southeast. The eastern stone measures 1.1 metres long, rising to 0.45 metres high, whilst its western companion is shorter at 0.5 metres long but stands slightly taller at 0.6 metres.

When antiquarian Fagan visited the site in 1845, he believed these stones were the remains of what he called an 'ancient sepulture', comparing them to the type of megalithic tomb locally known as 'Dermot and Grania's Bed', named after the legendary lovers from Irish mythology. According to Fagan's account, locals remembered that stone flags and large blocks had been removed from the site for building materials, suggesting the original structure was once considerably more substantial than what remains today.

Whilst the true nature of this monument remains unclear, the surviving stones hint at Donegal's rich megalithic past. Whether they once formed part of a burial chamber, a ceremonial site, or another type of prehistoric structure, these modest stones have endured where their companions have not; silent witnesses to thousands of years of Irish history, now standing quietly in the landscape they've occupied since the Stone Age.

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