Standing stone in Graigavalla

On the S bank of the Clodiagh River at the base of a steep N-facing slope, in pasture. Graigavalla Bridge is located 25m to the NW, it was built c. 1900. On the 1st (1941) ed. 6-inch OS map there is a ‘Ford & Footstick’ crossing the river, which had been replaced by a bridge by the 2nd (1925) ed. There are limited views from this standing stone as there is a steep rise in slope both on the N and S side of the river. The Comeragh Mountains are visible to the W, dominated by Knockanaffrin to the SW. Standing stone (H 1.83m; max. Wth 1.4m) of red conglomerate sandstone with quartz pebble inclusions. It is aligned E-W, with the broad N face (L 1.25m) facing the river. Roughly sub-rectangular in plan, though the S face (L 1.4m) is not straight and the stone narrows from the W (Wth 0.63m) towards the E (Wth 0.15m). The stone also tapers (Wth 0.38m) as it rises. The top of the stone has broken off. The area around the standing stone has been poached by cattle resulting in a slight hollow. There is a possible packing stone (dims. c. 0.4m x 0.2m) at the W end of the S side. There is some evidence of attempts in the past to break the stone, evident from 3 drilling holes, one horizontal (L 0.21m) and two vertical (diam. 0.1m; D 0.04-0.05m), on the S face, c. 40m above the base of the stone. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 8 November 2016