What is recorded here
Grania and Dermot are bedmates still, locked inside a long stone box buried under Clare soil. The chamber measured nineteen feet six inches, wide enough for two bodies stretched face to face. Grania never stopped moving, her legs dragging across the stone, pulling Dermot along with her. They danced through every storm and century because love will not release what it has touched.
This feature, named ‘Dermot and Grania’s Bed’ on the 1840 edition of the OS 6-inch map, stood in a generally level area in an otherwise gently undulating field with reasonable views of the surrounding landscape. The field has some rock outcrop close to the surface. Described in the Ordnance Survey letters (OSL, vol. 2, 285) as being ‘in the form of an ordinary grave (coffin) measuring 19 feet 6 inches in length and 4 feet 5 inches in breadth at the foot, and 6 feet 4 inches in breadth at the head, the thickness of the stones all round being included in the measurement. This was enclosed by a number of large stones placed at a few feet distance, and following the form of the grave.’ It is described by Westropp (1902, 113, No. 25i) as a ‘cist….lying in the field near the junction of the by-road and the Tulla road….’. De Valera and Ó Nualláin (1961, 98), indicate that the tomb had been destroyed before Westropp’s visit, hence his reference to a ‘cist’. They noted several almost concealed blocks, obviously ‘not in-situ’ (ibid.). On inspection in 2017 there were no visible remains of any such features at ground level.
The following document has been uploaded:
CL035-009---_01.pdf Details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume I. County Clare. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1961)
Revised by: Mary Tunney and Alison McQueen
Date of revision: 7 November 2017
Portal dolmen; likely constructed during the Neolithic period (c. 4000–2500 BCE). The site's name and mapping suggest a possible connection to local legend or folklore, though its archaeological significance remains largely unexplored.
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
Dermot and Granias BedWedge tomb · 260 yd
Dermot & Grania's BedArchaeological place · 282 yd
Bunavory Castle (in ruins)Castle, unclassified · 1217 yd
worker's houseworker's house · 1309 yd
The StablesGallery · 1.3 mi
Saint Mochulla's Church (Tulla)graveyard/cemetery · 1.3 mi
Cloghleagh RockNamed rock · 2.7 mi
Derrymore WoodWood · 3.9 mi
The RingfortHeritage attraction · 4.0 mi
Kilcatherine GraveyardWood · 4.7 mi
Mulkere MemorialMemorial · 6.5 mi