What is recorded here

Leabaancheathrairaluinn, the grave of the four comely, stands in County Galway, Ireland. The name suggests a place where beauty was remembered through loss, while the flags and chamber preserve the shape of that mourning. It is a burial site where the four comely are not praised as heroes but held inside the earth and stone.

Standing c. 150m to W of Teampall na Ceathrair Álainn (GA110-086001-). These consist of (a) a plain, thin limestone pillar (H 2.8m) surrounded at its base by a rough rectangular cairn (L c. 3.5m, H 0.5m) (see GA110-085001-), and (b) c. 15m to E in next field, a total of five thin rectangular limestone slabs, three of which are set on edge, aligned N-S, and partly supported by small cairns. Two others lie recumbent, and there is also a small rectangular pillar at N end. The OS Letters (O'Flanagan 1927a, Vol. 3, 371-2) record these as 'four flags said to mark the graves of “the Four Beauties”' and they are named as such on the OS 6-inch maps. However, the 'enclosure' (GA110-086002-) to the E of the church was called 'Leaba an Cheathrair aluinn' by the islanders (ibid.), suggesting that the naming of this feature on the maps may be a cartographic error. A possible holy well (GA110-085002-) lies immediately to S. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Updated by: Olive Alcock Date of revised upload: 29 March 2016 This monument was taken into Ownership under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 43.

A portal dolmen dating to the Neolithic or early Bronze Age; its significance lies in its association with a wider ritual landscape, including nearby monuments and the possible link to a local saint or legend.

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