This substantial stone, measuring just over a metre long and half a metre wide, features a perfectly circular depression carved into its upper surface. The water-filled hollow, roughly 25 centimetres across and 22 centimetres deep, identifies this as a bullaun stone; one of Ireland’s intriguing early Christian monuments.

Bullaun stones like this one at Leirg An Dachtáin are found throughout Ireland, their precise origins and purposes still debated by archaeologists and historians. The bowl-shaped depressions were likely used for grinding grain or herbs, though many became associated with religious practices during the early medieval period. Local traditions often attributed healing properties to the rainwater that collected in these hollows, with people using it to cure various ailments or as a blessing.

The placement of this particular bullaun stone beside both a road and stream suggests it may have served as a waymarker or ritual site for travellers and pilgrims passing through this part of Donegal. Its survival and continued presence in the landscape offers a tangible connection to the everyday spiritual practices of Ireland’s past, when the boundaries between practical tools and sacred objects were far more fluid than they are today.