What is recorded here

Coolycasey holds a rough sandstone boulder on a steep Clare slope, marked by one straight groove and a row of shallow indentations that emerge only when the light fades. The hilltop sits above reclaimed pasture, exposing a small canvas where someone may have scratched, counted or warned before moss and lichen began erasing the gesture. The markings resist easy reading, but their deliberate shape suggests human hands worked the stone while the Fergus estuary glittered below.

On a steep W-facing slope near the summit of a low hill in an unreclaimed area surrounded by reclaimed fields of pasture with superb views NW-SW over the Fergus estuary and undulating low hills NW-E. There is a lot of cleared stone on top of the hill. A very irregular rough boulder, well set but possibly not outcrop, reported by Micheál Mac Gearailt. The boulder (0.97m N-S; 0.63m E-W; H at N 0.63m; H at S 0.2m) appears to be of sandstone with several quartz inclusions, some with a green mottled covering. The upper surface has a flattish area at SW and rises to a sharp edge to the N. At the W top edge is a straight E-W groove (L 0.095m; Wth 0.02m; D 0.02m) which does not appear to be natural. Slightly further E from the single groove there are a number of indentations (each 0.12m in width) in a row, best visible in low light. The overall area in question is 0.3m x 0.17m. The lower part of the boulder is moss-covered and there is much lichen on the top including the area with the groove. Another boulder of similar geology but with no visible markings is 7m to the W. The following images have been uploaded: CL052-080----_01.jpg View of boulder from W. CL052-080----_02.jpg Close-up of top of boulder from W. Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 26 August 2019

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art at Coolycasey may have had ritual or territorial significance, possibly linked to landscape orientation or celestial alignments given its elevated and visible position. No specific folklore is recorded, but its location suggests a connection to ancient pathways or ceremonial activity in the region.

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