What is recorded here

Farbreague, the False Man, stands at the exact junction where Cloghan, Shasgar, Lissiniska and Mautiagh meet on a bog-covered plateau in County Leitrim. A pyramid of stones rises one metre high, marking a boundary line where one wall is missing and human life may have relied on that visible ghost to keep four separate worlds distinct. The name warns against deception, suggesting the cairn itself is a trick of the mind born from exhaustion and distance.

Marked as a cairn described in italic lettering as ‘Farbreague’ meaning ‘False man’ on the 1835 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and described as Farbreague on the 1910 ed. It is situated on a local high point of a broad, bog-covered plateau and at the point where four townlands meet, with Cloghan to the NW, Shasgar to the NE, Lissiniska to the SE and Mautiagh to the SW. The boundaries are established as stone walls, except that between Cloghan and Shasgar, which is missing. The feature is described as a stone which had the appearance of a man (H c. 2.1m [7ft]) (OS Name Books, No. 84, 597). There is a pyramid of stones (diam. 0.8m; H 1m) at the junction of the townlands. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 September 2008

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