What is recorded here

Donegal's Altar (Site of) hosted hidden worship under the Penal laws before removal around 1845, yet later writers called it a dolmen or prehistoric chamber tomb. That change suggests a place remembered through more than one age: faith, fear, story and stone.

Listed as a 'dolmen' (Borlase 1897) and later as a 'prehistoric chamber tomb' (Killanin and Duignan 1962; 1967), this was an altar that served as a place of worship during the era of the Penal laws and was removed in around 1845 (OS 1:2,500 Name Book, 1904). Borlase 1897, 236, Raphoe South no. 2; OS 1:2,500 Name Book, sheet 68 (1904), 13; Killanin and Duignan 1962, 81; Killanin and Duignan 1967, 92. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008

This site was used as a place of Catholic worship during the Penal Laws era, reflecting the clandestine religious practices of the time. The structure was originally classified as a prehistoric chamber tomb but later recognized for its historical role in 18th- and 19th-century Irish religious resistance.

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