It is not especially tall, not especially dramatic, and yet its presence here is precisely what makes it worth noting. Ordnance Survey maps record two stones at this location, but only one survives, leaving the site in a state of quiet incompleteness that is common enough among prehistoric monuments and somehow more thought-provoking for it.

The remaining stone measures roughly 1.3 metres by 0.6 metres at its base and stands approximately 1.1 metres high. It is aligned east-northeast to west-southwest, a orientation shared by many standing stones across Ireland and thought by some researchers to reflect astronomical or seasonal significance, though the precise purpose of any individual stone is rarely something the ground itself will confirm. Standing stones, as a category, are among the most enigmatic of Irish prehistoric monuments; they were erected across a broad span of time, possibly from the Neolithic period onward, and their functions likely varied, from markers of territory or burial to gathering points or memorials. What the pair at Shanacrane once indicated, and why one has since disappeared, are questions the site keeps to itself.