What is recorded here

Cairn is a small stone mark on the north side of Ballaghbeama Gap in County Kerry, not a confident ancient monument but possibly a leacht cuimhne, a memory heap. It sits just above the roadway, made of small stones and pebbles, about four metres across and under a metre high. Trucks and tourists pass it without thinking, yet it does what cairns have always done: it gives a place a shape and asks people to remember something they never learned.

This small cairn occurs on the N side of Ballaghbeama Gap, just above the level of the roadway. Of subcircular plan, it is mainly composed of small stones and pebbles. Its overall dimensions are 3.8m N-S x 4.05m E-W, and it stands to a maximum height of .9m at E. The form and location of this monument indicate that it may not be an antiquity, and local information suggests that it is a leacht cuimhne (Ó Cíobháin 1985, 27). The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 398. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.