What is recorded here

A large limestone boulder sits at the south end of a rough grazing rise in County Galway, its irregular fissures catching rainwater for local blessings. Four hundred metres northeast, a second similar stone repeats the same tradition, suggesting the whole ridge once belonged to a forgotten saint or a very practical belief that clean water needed a holy container. People still dip hands into those cracks, trusting the rock more than any church tower.

At the S end of a rise in an area of rough grazing. According to local information, a large natural limestone boulder (H 1.1m; L 2.2m; Wth 1.3m) with a number of irregular fissures on its surface is known as a 'bullaun stone'. Local people bless themselves with the water that gathers in its fissures. A similar boulder (GA030-087----), with the same tradition, lies c. 440m to the NE. Compiled by: Olive Alcock Date of upload: 1 October 2014

A large natural limestone boulder known as a 'bullaun stone' at Knockaloura West is associated with early Christian tradition; such stones were often linked to saints and used for ritual purposes, with their hollows or fissures sometimes filled with holy water or used in healing practices. Local folklore may connect the site to saintly pilgrimage or cure, though specific saintly associations are not recorded.

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