This roughly rectangular stone structure, measuring about three metres at its widest point and standing just 1.2 metres tall, represents a slice of Ireland’s industrial heritage dating from after 1700.

The kiln’s construction shows the practical ingenuity of its builders, who cleverly used the natural slope of the land to their advantage. The north-north-east wall is built directly into the hillside itself, providing natural insulation and structural support. The main body of the kiln consists of carefully laid drystone walls that have weathered centuries of Donegal’s notorious weather. At the heart of the structure lies what was once the bowl, measuring 1.4 metres across, though it’s now filled in with debris and earth accumulated over the years.

The most distinctive feature is the raking and stoking hole, centrally positioned in the west-south-west wall. This opening, standing 93 centimetres high and 58 centimetres wide, would have been where workers fed fuel into the kiln and managed the burning process that converted limestone into quicklime; an essential material for mortar, agriculture, and various industrial processes in post-1700 Ireland. Though modest in size and now largely forgotten, this kiln stands as a testament to the small-scale industry that once dotted the Irish countryside.