What is recorded here

Rock art in Derreeny marks a south-facing Kerry slope where pickmarks and curving grooves still bite into fractured sandstone above the Kealduff River valley. The circles stand out like hammered coins, while the grooves trace shallow arcs across a surface no larger than a wide hearthstone. Whoever worked that stone did not decorate it casually; they chose a visible place, repeated the marks, and left a pattern the mountain has kept beside a living stream.

In rough, mountain pasture, on a S-facing slope (117m OD), overlooking Kealduff River valley to S; tributary stream is c. 2m to W. A slightly rough and fractured sandstone rock outcrop (dims. 2.10m NE-SW; 1.33m NW-SE; max. H 1.30m on downslope) with a sub-oval decorated surface (dims. 1.80m NE-SW; 1.33m NW-SE) which has a steep NW-facing aspect. The rock art is well-defined and consists of several circular concentrations (diam. 8cm) of distinct pickmarks, with two of these off-centre to N which are very definite and readily visible. A pair of curvilinear grooves (dims. L 17cm; Wth 8mm; D 3mm at W and L 18cm; Wth 2cm; D 3mm at E) are located in the SW corner of the decorated surface. A third curvilinear groove (dims. L 8cm; Wth 8mm; D 3mm) is further to E. A linear groove (dims. L 7cm; Wth 0.5cm; D 3mm) on N sector of decorated surface. Numerous pickmarks are within the vicinity of these grooves. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 27 March 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art at Derreeny may have held ritual or territorial significance, possibly linked to early farming communities or symbolic landscape markers. No specific folklore is recorded for the site.

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