What is recorded here

Rock art in Derreennaclogh marks a rough sandstone plateau in County Cork, where four faint cup-and-ring motifs still frame a natural fissure. The stone lies almost flush with pasture, exposing only a shallow eastern edge, yet its weathered rings remain clear enough to trace across the grain. A second possible panel waits thirty-three metres east, suggesting the plateau once carried more than one marker. People may have read the rocks as a boundary, a ritual address or a map of water and sky, but the markings still interrupt the field like a sentence broken off mid-breath.

In rough pasture, upon a plateau, at a slightly higher location, c. 6.1m to E of rock art panel (CO131-069----). A very rough and fractured sandstone outcrop (dims. 3.05m NNW-SSE; 3.36m ENE-WSW; H 0.55m at W and flush with existing ground level at S, E and N) which is rectangular in plan with an E-facing aspect. According to local information, this has been uncovered in relatively recent times. This large, relatively flat stone is a rock art panel bearing at least five motifs upon a subrectangular decorated surface (dims. 1.7m NNW-SSE; 1.0m ENE-WSW). The decorative elements are very weathered and faint, yet easily traceable despite natural rock striations (long-axis E-W) across the stone surface and later grooves (long-axis N-S) at regular intervals which may be glacial. Four cup-and-ring motifs are arranged two either side of a natural fissure (long-axis E-W) which extends across the rock art panel. The northern cup-and-ring motif (overall dims. 19cm x 14cm) is defined by a ring (Wth 1.5cm; D 5mm) and has a central cup (dims. 11cm x 7cm; D 10mm). The southern cup-and-ring motif (overall dims. 19cm x 22cm) is defined by a ring (Wth 1.5cm; D 3-4mm) and has a central cup (diam. 14cm; D 16mm). The remains of a more complex motif (dims. 23cm x 16cm) to SE, comprise of a triple cupmark (each cup dims. 4cm; D 10mm) arranged in a linear format and enclosed by a wider ring (Wth 1-1.5cm; D 3-4mm) that is rectangular in plan. Rock art, possible (CO131-073----) is c. 33m to E. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 13 July 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, this rock art panel may have served a ritual or symbolic function, possibly linked to territorial markers or spiritual beliefs. Its location on a plateau suggests a strategic or ceremonial significance within the landscape.

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