What is recorded here

Carrowreagh OR Craignacally preserves a faint cup-and-two-ring motif on a corrugated bedrock sheet at Doagh Island, where shallow rings barely resist the patience of wind and grass. The main cup remains clear while its surrounding bands dissolve into the stone, suggesting the maker either hesitated or trusted distance to hide the work. A radial groove appeared and vanished between inspections, as if the rock itself decided how much of the old gesture it wished to reveal.

In pasture, located on a partly grass-covered, low irregular-shaped knoll of rock outcropping in the S half of Doagh Island, overlooking Trawbreaga Bay to S. The rock art is located on a sheet of bedrock (c. 5m E–W; c. 4m N–S) straddling the top SE edge of the knoll; a steeply-sloping rock face defines the E edge of the exposed surface, and there is a cluster of upright boulders just beyond the W edge. While the rock surface is relatively smooth, the bedrock sheet as a whole has a corrugated appearance, being naturally divided into several narrow sections by a series of parallel N–S creaks and folds. The N third, which coincides with the top of the knoll, is relatively flat; the centre and S part of the rock surface dips and slopes gently to S. A cup-and-two-ring motif is evident in one of the middle sections on the level upper portion of the bedrock sheet. The central circular cup (diam. 0.07-0.08m; D 0.02m) is well defined, but the two concentric rings (overall diam. c. 0.3m) are very shallow and barely visible. The inner ring (diam. c. 0.15m) appears to be gapped at SE. In 2018 a radial groove was noted, extending from the central cupmark downslope to SSE towards a small, natural oblong hollow in the rock surface; this radial groove was not evident during an inspection in 2020. There are also a number of smaller, shallow, barely discernible cupmarks (diam. c. 0.05-0.07m): one is located 0.17m SE of the large cupmark, with two others further downslope to SE. Another cupmark (diam. c. 0.07m), with a rougher outline, is located 0.75m to WNW of the large cupmark. A number of possible radial grooves extend to N from this cupmark; they are slight and may simply be natural features of the rock. Attached images: DG004-086----_01.JPG Exposed bedrock at top SE edge of knoll, viewed from S DG004-086----_02.JPG Bedrock sheet, viewed from W DG004-086----_03.JPG Cup-and-two-ring motif, viewed from N DG004-086----_04.JPG Cup-and-two-ring motif, viewed from N Notified to the NMS by Aoibheann Lambe. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 11 March 2020

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art may have held ritual or territorial significance, possibly linked to early farming communities or spiritual practices associated with the landscape. No specific folklore is recorded for the site.

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