Doon Rock Inauguration Stone

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). Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 04 November 2013

Likely dating to the early medieval period, the Doon Rock Inauguration Stone may have been used for ritual or symbolic purposes, possibly linked to local kingship or leadership traditions. The legend of hidden "crowns" suggests a connection to folklore surrounding power, treasure, or ancestral heritage.