Mass-rock in Ballymacool

Situated in a rough, wet, scrub-covered, secluded, steep N-facing mountain side. The monument comprises a roughly-built altar dating to the period when the Penal Laws were in force. The altar is an irregularly-shaped slab (L 0.7m; Wth. 0.42m; H 0.3m) aligned NW-SE. This is supported on its NE side by a single boulder and on both its NW and SE sides by a relatively large uprights topped by narrow, horizontally placed, packing slabs to achieve a relatively level surface . The SW side, presumably where the sacred vessels etc. were temporarily held, is left open. NW side: Upright stone - H 0.3m; L 0.25m; Wth. 0.25m Slab 1 - H 0.1m; L & Wth. as above Slab 2 - H 0.04m; L & Wth. as above SE side: Basal stone - H 0.25m; L 0.05m; Wth. 0.4m Slab 1 - H 0.07m A short distance NW is a recently-erected cairn bearing the date 1980.

This mass-rock is associated with the clandestine Catholic worship that took place during the Penal Laws era in Ireland, when open practice of the Catholic faith was forbidden. Such sites were used by priests and congregations to hold Mass in secret, often in remote and hidden locations to avoid detection by authorities.