Wedge tomb in An Cheathrú Riabhach (tc Gleann Ó Gceanann)

This monument, not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch map, is situated at the northern end of the Inishowen peninsula, c. 5km SSE of Carndonagh. It stands in a large tract of bog, where it was uncovered, along with the remains of a stone circle (Lacy 1983, 69, no. 325) c. 100m to the W, during turf-cutting in around 1980. The site is on a gentle slope c. 30m W of the Meenahonor Bum, a tributary of the Glennagannon River, which flows to the sea at Trawbreaga Bay c. 9km to the NNW. There is a good outlook from the site over the surrounding area, except to the S, where it is restricted by gently rising ground. The plan published here was made in 1982, when the N side of the monument was still partly covered by peat that rose 0.6m above it. The site was revisited in 1991, when it was found that further turf-cutting had fully exposed a tall orthostat at the NW and had uncovered another stone beside it that had not been visible in 1982. This has been added to the plan. By 1991 much of the monument was concealed by discarded sods. The structure appears to have been in a ruinous condition before it was enveloped by the peat. The monument consists of a gallery, at least 4.5m long, now open at both ends, and flanked at either side by outer-walling. It lies more or less W-E. The gallery is 1.5m wide at the W end; it narrows and decreases in height toward the E. A single roofstone is in place at around midway along the gallery. Two orthostats stand at the W end of the S side of the gallery. The western one, which leans inward, is 0.7m in exposed height, and the eastern one is 0.2m lower. Approximately 0.8m beyond the last the line of this side of the gallery is continued to the E by two small stones, only the tops of which are visible. These may well be sidestones. Four orthostats are exposed along the N side of the gallery. That at the W end is a good match for its counterpart on the S side. It is 0.8m high. The second, largely concealed by the roofstone, is 0.2m high. The third orthostat on this side, its western end concealed, is only 0.05m in exposed height. A displaced slab, c. 1m in maximum dimension, rests on this. The fourth orthostat is 0.05m in exposed height. The roofstone measures 1.45m N-S by 1.1m E-W and is 0.2m thick. At the N it rests on the second sidestone of the gallery, and originally it would have rested on the corresponding sidestone on the S side but has slipped and now lies on a buried stone that overlaps the inner face of that sidestone. The buried stone is c. 0.8m long, and its top is flush with the surface here. It is of uncertain status and is not shown on the plan. Beneath the southern half of the roofstone is a separate piece broken from its underside. Three outer-wall stones are exposed at intervals beyond the front half of the S side of the gallery. The stone at the W is 0.2m high; the second is 0.1m high; and the third is only 0.05m in exposed height. An outer-wall stone beyond the E end of the N side of the gallery is 0.5m high. It rises 0.25m above the top of a small set stone at its inner face. At the W end of the N side of the monument and just outside the inner end of the large orthostat at the front of the gallery is a set stone, 0.35m in exposed height. This may be an outer-wall stone or may represent a doubling of the gallery side. Stones of various sizes are scattered at the site, but there is no recognisable trace of a cairn or mound. A stone protruding from the peat beyond the SW comer of the gallery is of uncertain status. It is 1.2m long, 0.2m thick and 0.4m in sloping height. Ó Nualláin 1983a, 41, no. 99; SMR 1987, 20:4; Ó Nualláin 1989, 136; RMP 1995, 20:4. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008 See linked document with details from Eamon Cody, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI. County Donegal. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002)