Grave of St Mac Duaghs Servant

On level rock pavement and rough grazing, c. 425m ESE of the ecclesiastical remains associated with St Colman Mac Duagh (CL006-023----). Listed as ‘Megalithic structure (possible)’ in the SMR (1992) and the RMP (1996). Named ‘Grave of St MacDuagh’s Servant’ on the 1915 ed. of the OS 6-inch map. According to Westropp (1910-13) St Colman MacDuagh’s servant is said to have died (c. AD 630) after overindulging in King Guaire’s feast, which miraculously arrived after he and Colman had undergone a long period of subsisting on meagre rations (Comber 2003, 67). A subrectangular mound of slabs and rubble (c. 5m N-S x 3m E-W) enclosing a small rectangular fissure in the bedrock (2.55m E–W x 1.1m N–S; H 0.7m) roofed by two large thin flagstones, one on top of the other and opening to the N. There is presently no evidence of water in the fissure. The opening is approached by a small curved passage (5m N–S x 3m E–W) defined by natural outcrop and by a collapsed drystone wall (H 1.1m; Wth 0.5–0.8m). Two penitential cairns (CL006-025002- and CL006-025003-) joined by a wall are located c. 2m to the W. The following image has been uploaded: CL006-025----_01.jpg View from N. Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Ros Ó Maoldúin Date of upload: 4 May 2021

Linked to St Colman Mac Duagh, an early Irish Christian saint associated with the monastic site at Keel, County Clare, the grave of his servant is traditionally considered a place of pilgrimage and local veneration. The site may have been reinterpreted from an earlier megalithic or pre-Christian monument, reflecting the common practice of associating holy sites with existing sacred landscapes.