Standing stone, Friarstown, Co. Limerick

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Stone Monuments

Standing stone, Friarstown, Co. Limerick

A standing stone that no longer stands is a quietly contradictory thing.

In a field of flat pasture near Friarstown Hill in County Limerick, a substantial limestone slab lies on its side, no longer upright as its original purpose presumably demanded, but still present and still legible as something deliberate. It is the kind of monument that rewards a second look, because the first glance might register it as little more than a large flat rock.

The stone itself is sizeable: 2.3 metres wide, 0.87 metres tall, and 0.45 metres thick, which gives a sense of the effort involved in its original erection, whenever that occurred. Standing stones in Ireland are generally associated with the Bronze Age, though precise dating for individual examples is rarely straightforward without excavation. What is notable here, recorded by Denis Power and uploaded to the sites record in May 2013, is that the slab rests on a low, denuded mound of earth and stones, roughly 4 metres east to west and 3 metres north to south, rising only about 0.3 metres above the surrounding ground. A denuded mound is one that has been reduced over time, whether by agriculture, weathering, or casual stone-robbing, so what survives is likely a diminished version of something once more pronounced. The stone sits approximately 100 metres east of the foot of Friarstown Hill, which provides a useful landmark for orientation.

Access is across private farmland, so seeking permission from the landowner before approaching is the sensible and courteous course. The site sits in flat grazing pasture, which means the ground can be soft and wet depending on the season; boots are advisable. Once there, the mound beneath the stone is worth examining closely, low and spread as it is, since its shape hints at deliberate construction rather than natural accumulation. The stone itself, horizontal and broad, has an almost architectural quality when seen up close, its limestone surface weathered to a pale grey. There is no signage or formal access point, and the site does not appear on most tourist routes, which means a visit requires a little preparation but also guarantees a degree of quiet.

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