stones historical ireland

Visit the love stone with your true love. It is a tapered dolerite slab about 5 feet high by 21 feet, 2 inches wide with a circular hole, of some 3 to 4 inches cut into it. Evidence of tree planting nearby from 1791. In the last century the 'Holestone' Lovestone was used by trothplighting couples to solemnise their marriage....

Majestically towering over the Laois countryside is the Rock of Dunamaise - the remains of a celtic fortification. This is one of Ireland's most famous landmarks and has a long and diverse history attached to it. Aoife, daughter of the King of Leinster received it as a part of her dowry on her marriage to Strongbow. The fort was also part of the O'Moore territory. It is a gathering point for the O'Lalor Clan Rally which takes place in October....

The length of trail is 8km (5 miles). The actual walking will take you 2 - 2.5 hours, but there is a lot to see on the Trail, so you should allow 4 - 5 hours if you are to enjoy it fully.

The route is marked by yellow arrows on limestone plaques, with an occasional - walking man - symbol. There are stiles wherever you need to cross a wall....

Less than 200m from Kilree Church is Glun Brighde (St. Brigid's Knee) a stone with the imprint of St. Brigid's knees, while a little further north is the inevitable blessed well dedicated to her....

The Goles Alignment is a group of 11 standing stones that run exactly North-South....

A squared pillarstone of monumental appearance, 7 feet high and 3 feet wide. its south-eastern face is decorated with a profusion of cup-marks, many with single and multiple surrounding rings, a characteristic motif of the Galician or rock art of the Bronze Age. The stone is in a field behind a farmhouse, 1 mile north-north-east of Muff, to the west of the coast road to Carrowkeel and Moville....

One of the great wonders of the ancient world, Newgrange is older than Stonehenge, Mycenae or even the pyramids in Egypt. Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre is the starting point for a tour of Newgrange....

Known as 'The Giant's Griddle' and recorded as such on the 1/2 inch O.S. Map, this handsome megalith is fairly well preserved despite forming part of a modern wall into which some of the cairn stones have been built. The chamber lacks at least one of its side stones, but the large capstone is still in position. A cupmarked stone is contained in the wall near the Griddle, and remains of a second tomb lie close by. This monument is not easy to find without asking directions locally, nor is...

About 5km out on the Ballinamore road is the Killycluggin Stone. The original or this roadside replica is in the National Museum in Dublin.

The ornamentation is from the early Iron Age and contains incised La Tene motifs. La Tene relates to the Celtic culture in Europe from about the 5th to the 1st century BC which was characterised by curvilinear decoration like that found on the Killycluggin Stone.

The first discoveries of this style of decoration were made at La Tene, Lac de N...

An Ogham stone, placed in a niche beside the road, bearing the inscription NETA-CARI NEGA CAGI...