What is recorded here

Ossian's grave is a story, not a fact. The measure is a long narrow chamber, large enough for a person laid flat or a family buried together. Whether it belonged to Ossian, Oscar or nobody at all, the chamber was built to hold someone important. The stones are gone, taken for walls and roads. The grave remains only in the name and in the shape of what the field once kept.

This feature is named 'Grave' on the 1848 edition of the OS 6-inch map. It is listed by Colhoun (1949) as a multi-chambered cairn. There is no trace of it now, unless two large stones, partly buried, are remnants. It is described as follows in an OS Revision Name Book (1848): 'The grave is about twelve feet [c. 3.65m] long and six feet [c. 1.8m] broad, the only traces which remain are some rubbish of loose stones and any which were of use being carried away for other purposes by the peasantry'. The nature of this destroyed site is uncertain. Lewis 1837, vol. 1, 352 ('Ossian's Grave'); OS Revision Name Book, sheet 4 (1848), 11; 'Maghtochair' 1867, 25 (cairn at Umgall); Doherty 1891, 60-61 ('Oscar's Grave'); A.I. Young 1929, 10; Colhoun 1949, 117; Bonner 1972, 14, 16; Lacy 1983, 62, no. 270; SMR 1987, 4:1; Colhoun 1995, 11, no. 4/13a; RMP 1995, 4:1. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008

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.