This one in Kilmartin, set in pasture above the Dripsey River valley in mid Cork, only reveals its true character once you know what lies two metres to its north-east. It is an outlying stone, a satellite to a multiple stone circle, and that proximity changes everything about how it should be understood.

Multiple stone circles, a form of prehistoric monument found with particular frequency in Cork and Kerry, typically consist of an odd number of stones arranged in a ring, with a distinctive recumbent or axial stone marking a specific point on the perimeter. The axial stone is usually the lowest in the circle and is thought to have been orientated deliberately, possibly in relation to solar or lunar events. This standing stone, measuring 1.2 metres in height and roughly 1.3 metres by 0.4 metres at its base, sits 2 metres to the south-west of that axial stone. Outlying stones positioned near the axial point of a circle are relatively uncommon features, and their function is not fully understood. Whether they served as approach markers, ritual indicators, or something else entirely remains a matter of archaeological discussion.

The stone stands in farmland with views across the Dripsey River valley, a quietly dramatic setting that would have been no less significant to the people who placed it there in prehistory.