Standing stone, Cabragh, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Stone Monuments

Standing stone, Cabragh, Co. Cork

At Cabragh in mid-Cork, a cluster of prehistoric standing stones once formed a remarkably precise geometric arrangement across the landscape.

Three of the stones, each known individually by the Irish term gallaun, a word simply meaning a single upright stone, were positioned at the corners of what a 1918 observer calculated to be an equilateral triangle, with each side measuring roughly 58 yards. A further pair stood approximately 150 yards to the south, close together and much smaller. The whole group sat around 100 metres south-west of a stone row and a stone circle, suggesting this corner of Cork was once densely marked by prehistoric monuments whose relationship to one another remains unclear.

The most detailed account of the site comes from Conlon, writing in 1918, who recorded all five stones and gave careful measurements. The three principal stones, which he labelled A, B, and C, ranged from five to just over seven feet in height, with varying widths and thicknesses. The two southern stones, D and E, were considerably smaller, the latter barely reaching eighteen inches above ground. Interestingly, the 1842 Ordnance Survey six-inch map showed the three main gallauns arranged in a rough north-south line, with the southernmost displaced slightly to the west, and this stone had already vanished from later editions of the same map series, suggesting removal or collapse occurred sometime in the nineteenth century. What the 1842 survey recorded and what Conlon saw in 1918 do not entirely agree, hinting at a longer and messier history of disturbance than a simple before-and-after account would suggest.

None of the stones survive. All five were removed at some point, leaving the site with no visible trace of what was once a substantial and apparently carefully laid-out prehistoric monument complex. The precision implied by the equilateral triangle arrangement, if Conlon's measurements were accurate, is the detail that lingers: someone, at some point in prehistory, placed these stones not at random but according to a geometry that still prompts questions about intention and purpose.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Standing stone, Cabragh, Co. Cork. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement