Standing stone, Derreendarragh, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Stone Monuments

Standing stone, Derreendarragh, Co. Kerry

In the boggy ground of the Iveragh Peninsula, about 250 metres south of the Derreendarragh river, a single stone rises nearly two metres out of the earth and has been doing so for several thousand years.

It tapers as it climbs, finishing in a rounded top, and its base measures a substantial 2.85 metres by 0.7 metres, giving it a lean, blade-like profile. Four packing stones are still visible along its eastern side at ground level, wedged in place by whoever originally set it upright, suggesting that its installation was a considered, deliberate act rather than a casual one.

Standing stones of this kind are scattered across Kerry and the wider Irish landscape, though their precise purpose remains genuinely uncertain. They are generally associated with the Bronze Age, and theories range from territorial markers and ritual monuments to astronomical alignments and burial indicators. This particular stone is oriented north to south along its long axis, a detail that may or may not be meaningful, since such alignments can reflect deliberate intent or simply the lie of the land. What is clear is that someone, at some point in deep prehistory, chose this specific patch of boggy Kerry ground, quarried or sourced a sizeable slab of stone, transported it, and took care to pack it securely into the earth. The surrounding bog, which can preserve organic material exceptionally well, may hold further evidence beneath the surface that no surface survey could detect.

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Pete F
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