Standing stone in Rosserk

In pasture, located on a knoll, with extensive views over the surrounding sharply undulating terrain, and to E over the estuary of the River Moy. The Ox Mountains form the far horizon to NE–E, and Nephin and the Nephin Beg range are visible to SW. This standing stone is not indicated on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of an upright, pillar-like stone (H 3.1m; max. Wth 0.6m; max. T 0.5m) with a rectangular cross section, long axis NW–SE. The stone is broadest on its upper half. It tapers slightly towards the base, but has a slight asymmetrical splay on the SE side just above ground level. At top it narrows to a roughly triangular shape with a markedly pointed central apex. In the lower half of the SW face there is a small cup-mark like depression (diam. c. 0.1m) but this seems to be a natural solution hollow. The stone now stands in a small stony hollow. John O’Donovan recorded in the 1838 OS Letters that the stone stands on the boundary between ancient territories in the Barony of Tirawley (O’Flanagan 1927, (104-105 (54-55)). According to local information, this stone was removed from the ground, in which it was not deeply embedded, during land reclamation in the 1980’s and was subsequently re-erected at roughly the same spot. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 3 May 2019

Probably dating to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, this standing stone may have functioned as a territorial marker, ceremonial focus, or astronomical alignment point, given its elevated position and wide visibility. Local folklore sometimes associates such stones with ancient druids or as sites of supernatural activity, though specific traditions for this stone are not recorded.