What is recorded here

The wedge tomb in Ballymurphy is an E-W chamber of two limestone slabs set inside a grass-covered mound about 13m across, standing in open pasture on the Clare plateau. Later activity disturbed the mound and buried the front ends of the chamber, yet the flat sloping stones still mark a narrow passage where people may have placed the dead or kept memories of them. The wide view, the level ground and the surviving shape suggest the tomb was made to remain visible, not hidden.

On level ground in pasture within a multiperiod field system (CL009-013001-), with wide views of the surrounding plateau. Described by de Valera and Ó Nualláin (1961, 25-6) as a disturbed, E–W orientated wedge tomb (exposed L 2m; Wth at rear 0.9m; Wth at front 1.05m; exposed H at rear 0.2m; exposed H at front 0.3m) in the centre of a grass-covered mound (est. diam. c. 13m; H c. 1.8m) which had been damaged by later activities. A stone (H 0.4m; L 0.4m) at the SE of the mound may have indicated the original extent of the cairn. In the centre of the mound the upper parts of the tomb chamber’s N and S sidestones were exposed; each consisted of a single limestone slab, similar in size (visible L 1.9–2m; H 0.3m at W, 0.2m at E; T 0.1–0.15m) and with flat top edges sloping evenly from W to E. Their E ends were buried in the mound. Two smaller slabs (L 0.4–0.5m; H 0.1; T 0.1–0.15m) standing to the NE and SW of the chamber were probably remnants of a wall surrounding the tomb at a distance of c. 0.4m. An inspection in 1998 found it unaltered in the interim. The following item has been uploaded: CL009-013007-_01.pdf Details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume I. County Clare. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1961) Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott Date of upload: 27 October 2021

Wedge tomb in Ballymurphy is a Bronze Age funerary monument, characterized by its trapezoidal plan and orientation. Its location within a multiperiod landscape highlights its role in a broader prehistoric settlement and ritual context.

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