Rock art, Fegart, Co. Donegal
On the northern half of a pasture field on Doagh Island, County Donegal, lies an extraordinary example of prehistoric rock art carved into exposed bedrock.
Rock art, Fegart, Co. Donegal
The site occupies elevated ground at the northeast edge of the island, offering spectacular views across Trawbreaga Bay to the Malin peninsula, whilst rocky peaks and distant mountains create a dramatic backdrop to the southwest. The decorated stone surface, roughly triangular in shape and measuring about 8 metres from east to west, sits flush with the ground on the eastern edge of a natural grassy rise.
The bedrock canvas displays over 50 carved motifs, with the densest concentration appearing on the western and middle portions of the stone. Natural fissures running north to south and east to west divide the surface into distinct panels, creating an almost grid-like pattern that the ancient carvers worked within. The northern section features predominantly cupmarks; small circular depressions ranging from 3 to 10 centimetres in diameter, arranged in neat east-west rows. These simple cup marks give way to more elaborate designs in the southern sectors, where the wider spacing between natural fissures allowed for more complex artistry.
The most impressive motifs occupy the southwest corner, including the site’s largest carving: a central cup surrounded by four concentric rings spanning over 50 centimetres, with a linear groove extending southward through the rings. Nearby, five or six parallel grooves run northwest to southeast, whilst other notable designs include cups with double rings, cups with single rings and partial arcs, and one distinctive disc-like cup measuring 15 centimetres across. Throughout the middle section, smaller cup-and-ring motifs appear amongst the simpler cupmarks, some featuring barely visible rings just 6 to 12 centimetres in diameter. The artistry continues into the northeast sector, where one ring encloses a central cup accompanied by two tiny dimples, possibly micro-cups, with enigmatic scratch marks etched alongside.





