The Heros Grave — Ballynagallagh

Pillar stone and burial mound described by Lynch (1913, 12) as following; 'There is a folk tale told at Lough Gur that a giant and his golden sword were buried in the hill of Baile na gCaillech. A pillar stone and a burial mound stand about 300 yards south-west of the Leaba na muice [LI032-046----]. A cairn or burial mound known locally as 'The Hero's Grave' is annotated on the 1927 ed. OS 6-inch map where it is shown standing on the E side of an ancient roadway known locally as 'Cladh na Leac' (LI032-041001-). The site of a standing stone (LI032-041003-) also stood on the E side of the roadway and is annotated as 'Pillar (site of)' on the 1927 map. A megalithic tomb known as 'Leaba-na-muice' (LI032-046----) lies 315m to NNE, the church (LI032-043002-) and graveyard (LI032-043003-) of Mainister na Galliagh (Monastery of the Nun's) lies 190m to E, a megalithic structure annotated as a 'Giant's Grave' (LI032-045001-) stands 210m to S. The burial mound or cairn known locally as 'The Hero's Grave' was described in 1944 as following; 'This is a small mound of earth and stones of which part has been dug away leaving the structure with a hollow centre. At the S base are two large stones which may have been part of a kerb. On the NW side are traces of an outer bank but this may be the material dug out of the mound. It measures 24' [7.3m] E-W and 20' [6m] N-S. Its greatest height is 4' [1.2m]. It is built on a little platform of rock and is called on the map The Hero's Grave' (O'Kelly 1944, 25). Today there are no surface remains visible of this mound or cairn at the location marked on the OS 6-inch map. Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 5 July 2018