Megalithic tomb, Kilmonaster Middle, Co. Donegal
In the rolling pastures of Kilmonaster Middle, County Donegal, approximately two kilometres west of Croaghan Hill, once stood an enigmatic megalithic structure that has since vanished without a trace.
Megalithic tomb, Kilmonaster Middle, Co. Donegal
The only evidence of its existence comes from the 1845-7 revision of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch map, where it was marked as a standing stone, and from the detailed observations of Thomas Fagan recorded between 1845 and 1848. The site sat on a slight elevation about 400 metres southeast of a cruciform passage tomb in the same townland, with another mysterious feature located just 50 metres to the southwest.
Fagan’s account provides a tantalising glimpse of what he termed a ‘Giant’s Grave’, describing a square enclosure measuring approximately 3.3 metres on each side, bounded by large stone flags that stood between 30 and 60 centimetres high. Within this enclosure lay a substantial stone slab; roughly 2.15 metres long, 1.2 metres broad, and 45 centimetres thick; with one end raised about 60 centimetres, appearing to cover what Fagan believed to be a grave. His brief but detailed description suggests this may have been some form of megalithic tomb, though its exact classification remains uncertain.
The structure has been documented in various archaeological surveys including Seán Ó Nualláin’s work in the 1960s and 1980s, Michael Herity’s 1974 study, and the Record of Monuments and Places from 1995. Despite these scholarly references, the monument itself has completely disappeared from the landscape, leaving only these historical records to hint at the prehistoric activity that once marked this corner of Donegal. The Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland, compiled by Eamon Cody in 2002, lists it simply as an unclassified megalithic tomb, a reminder that even well-documented ancient sites can be lost to time and development.





