This ancient standing stone, significant enough to be marked as an antiquity on Ordnance Survey maps from the 19th century, met an unceremonious end in 1949 when it was removed by M. R. Colhoun. Today, the land where this prehistoric monument once stood continues to be cultivated, with no visible trace of the stone that likely stood there for thousands of years.

Standing stones like the one at Ballinlough are among Ireland’s most enigmatic prehistoric monuments, typically dating from the Bronze Age period between 2500 and 500 BCE. While their exact purpose remains debated amongst archaeologists, these solitary sentinels may have served as territorial markers, astronomical alignment points, or held ritual significance for the communities that erected them. The removal of the White Stone represents a common fate for many such monuments across Ireland during the 20th century, when agricultural modernisation often took precedence over archaeological preservation.

The documentation of this lost monument comes from the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, compiled in 1983 by Brian Lacey and his team of researchers. This survey, which catalogues field antiquities from the Mesolithic period through to the 17th century, serves as a crucial record of Donegal’s archaeological heritage, including monuments that have since been destroyed or lost. The White Stone’s inclusion in both the Ordnance Survey maps and this later archaeological survey underscores its former importance in the local landscape, even as its physical presence has been erased from the fields above Mintiaghs Lough.