Doon Rock Inauguration Stone, County Donegal

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What is recorded here

Read the whole record

Kinahan (1889, 284) that on Doon rock ‘there is a large whin-stone flag, with a peculiar squarish portion in its centre; and it is said, that if anyone can take this out, he will find under it "all the crowns of the ancient kings." This is so thoroughly believed that a most intelligent mason, not many years ago, brought a set of punches to the rock, and spent a whole day trying to raise the bit. Its modern fame is said to be due to Fathers Freel and Gallagher, who, after being in foreign parts for many years, returned about two hundred years ago to this country, and blessed the adjoining well, since which time it is much resorted to by pilgrims in the summer and autumn, the waters curing cripples, sore eyes, and various other ailments ; while water carried from the well, and sprinkled on the crops, stops the potato disease, blight in corn, and various other disasters. Of late years, the number of pilgrims have so much increased that a public road has been made into the well.’ There was no visible trace of this stone when the monument was inspected in 1980 in the course of the archaeological survey of Co. Donegal (SMR file). In 2006 the area on top of the rock was landscaped and a path constructed to facilitate access (SMR file).

From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record DG044-015003

Places near here

Photo credits

Chris Gunns, Wikimedia Commons
Chris Gunns, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Percita at Flickr, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Donegal Live; individual photographer not named, www.donegallive.ie
Steven Brown, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Maker not stated on source page, uk.pinterest.com
Maker not stated on source page, www.tripadvisor.co.za
Maker not stated on source page, commons.wikimedia.org

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