It sits where the townland of Carrigeen meets Rathcannon, close to the scarped edge of the riverbank, and it carries the outward appearance of a prehistoric upright stone of the kind found across Ireland. The problem is that nobody is entirely sure how it got there. Local information suggests it was pulled from the riverbed during dredging operations, which would mean it is not in its original position and may never have been deliberately erected at all. That uncertainty, unresolved and probably unresolvable, is what makes it worth knowing about.

The stone came to the attention of archaeologists in 2006, when an Archaeological Impact Assessment was conducted ahead of a forestry development in the area. Investigators Angela Wallace and Alison McQueen, working under licence number 06E0538, noted that while the stone had all the hallmarks of a genuine standing stone, a prehistoric monument typically consisting of a single large upright stone set into the ground, its provenance was questionable given the dredging claims. A possible ditch-barrow, a type of low earthen burial monument defined by an encircling ditch, lies approximately 40 metres to the northwest, which might suggest a broader prehistoric landscape in the vicinity, though no connection has been established. Monitoring of planting operations across roughly 11.5 acres over three days uncovered no archaeological finds or features, leaving the stone without any supporting context. It does not appear on any Ordnance Survey Ireland historic maps, which deepens the puzzle rather than resolving it. Despite the uncertainty, the stone was designated an Area of Biodiversity Enhancement with a 15-metre exclusion zone, ensuring it would not be disturbed by the forestry works.

The stone sits in wet pasture beside a conifer plantation, which now forms its immediate western backdrop. Because it lies on private farmland near a river boundary, access is not straightforward, and the ground underfoot is liable to be soft. The stone is visible on aerial imagery, including an Ordnance Survey orthophoto from between 2005 and 2012 and a Google Earth image from September 2020, which gives a sense of its position relative to the treeline and river. Anyone with a serious interest in the site would be advised to check land access in advance and to approach the riverbank with care, particularly after wet weather.