Standing stone, Mullenroe, Co. Cork

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Stone Monuments

Standing stone, Mullenroe, Co. Cork

A single upright stone in a field in Mullenroe, County Cork managed to escape the notice of the Ordnance Survey's first detailed mapping of Ireland, carried out in 1842.

Whether the surveyors simply missed it or it was already obscured in some way is unknown, but its absence from that meticulous six-inch map gives the stone a quietly puzzling quality. It has been there, presumably, for a very long time, and yet official record-keeping passed it by.

The stone itself stands 2.3 metres tall, with a slim profile measuring roughly 1.9 metres by 0.25 metres. Its shape is irregular rather than neatly dressed, with a rounded top and an orientation running northwest to southeast along its long axis. Standing stones of this kind are a familiar presence in the Irish landscape, raised during prehistory for purposes that remain open to interpretation, whether as territorial markers, astronomical reference points, or focal points for ritual activity. This one sits in level pasture above a southwest-facing slope, which gives it an elevated aspect without occupying any dramatically prominent ground. The combination of its modest proportions and its quiet agricultural setting is fairly typical of the type, though the fact that it slipped through the 1842 survey adds a small layer of mystery to an already ancient object.

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Pete F
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