Discover Alone, back to main map

Dermot & Granias Bed

Wedge tomb

What is recorded here

Dermot & Granias Bed was a simple wedge tomb on Inis Meáin, built from two long sidestones and a single roofstone before disappearing entirely. It stood beside small pasture fields near Baile an Mhothair, likely marking death and memory for people who walked that coastal land centuries ago. The stones are gone now, but their shape still suggests a chamber made for holding someone precious outside the reach of ordinary time.
On Inis Meáin, in an area of small pasture fields to NNE of and below Baile an Mhothair. No trace of this monument survives. In 1839 it consisted of a chamber formed by two sidestones, each about 3.25m long, and a partly displaced slab which closed SE end; N end was open. A single horizontal roofstone rested on the sidestones. The description suggests a simple wedge-tomb. (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1972, 27) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010 See linked document with details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume III. Counties Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, Laoighis, Offaly, Kildare, Cavan. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1972). This monument was taken into Ownership under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 42.
Portal dolmen; likely dates to the Neolithic or early Bronze Age. Its significance lies in representing a rare surviving example of a megalithic tomb structure in the Aran Islands, reflecting early communal burial practices in the region.

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

Add to this placeAdd a picture Comment or add a tip

Explore 1,118,481 places