Mass-rock in Carrigcleena More

Bowman (1934, 570) recorded 'Carraig an Aifrinn - Mass Rock, about 150 yds. N.W. of Carraig a Tuama. It is said that Mass was offered up here in the Penal Times'. Carrig a Tuama was the most southern cleft of Carrigcleena outcrop (ibid.). Exact location of mass rock not known. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

This mass-rock is associated with the clandestine celebration of Catholic Mass during the Penal Times in Ireland, when open practice of the Catholic faith was forbidden. Such sites were often used by priests and laypeople to maintain religious observance under threat of persecution.