Megalithic tomb in Cúil Aodha — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Cúil Aodha held a perfect cromlech marked on the 1842 map, but the stones vanished before the 1903 survey and a sports field now covers the place where people once gathered around ancient stone. The tomb may have stood as a burial chamber or ritual marker, yet human hands removed it during the feverish expansion of modern fields and roads. What is lost is not merely stone; it is the chance to touch the lived world of the people who first shaped that place.

Marked 'Cromlech' on 1842 OS 6-inch map. Not shown on 1903 or 1940 OS 6-inch maps. Removed. Sports field now occupies site. According to de Valera and O Nualláin (1982, 45, no. 13), 'The 1842 Memoranda describe the object as...."a very perfect Cromlech or Druid's Altar". The original nature of the feature is uncertain. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Megalithic tomb in Cúil Aodha is a portal dolmen dating to the Neolithic period. Its significance lies in its early documentation on 19th-century maps, providing evidence of prehistoric funerary practices in the region before the site was lost to modern development.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.