St Dominicks Stone

In undulating pasture, on top of a small pile of stones c. 70m N of Ballindoon Dominican priory (SL034-211001-). It is named 'St Dominick's Stone' on the 1914 OS 6-inch map and known locally by this name. It comprises a roughly beehive-shaped limestone block (L 0.4m; Wth 0.34m; H 0.22m) with a circular round-bottomed depression (diam. 0.13m; D 0.06m) in its upper surface. The block has two vertical sides and one bowed (the N side). The bowed side has four distinct ribs (Wth 0.01m) dividing it into five sub-triangular faces. Two corners are chamfered with slightly bulbous projections at the base of the chamfers. The S vertical face between these corners has a slightly sunken panel (0.24m x 0.14m) with an IHS carved in relief; there is a cross on the bar of the 'H'. This is a late 18th/early 19th-century addition (pers. comm. M. B. Timoney). According to Wood-Martin (1882, 227-8), the water which collects in the stone 'is supposed by the country-people to be a certain cure for warts'. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008

St Dominick's Stone, Ballindoon was likely erected in the medieval period, associated with the nearby Dominican priory, and is thought to be a small standing stone cross or memorial. It is dedicated to St Dominick (St Dominic), reflecting the influence of the Dominican Order in the area.