What is recorded here

Stone row in Cahermackirilla stands on a Clare plateau where wide southern views stretch across multiperiod fields. Three limestone slabs rise in a narrow NNE-SSW line, the tallest near the centre and the smallest flat-topped at the south end. They may be all that remains of an older wall, its better stones carried elsewhere to build a newer one. Nearby tomb stones and a lone standing rock suggest the plateau has long marked death, boundary or memory.

On a plateau with wide views, especially from S to W, and within a large multiperiod field system (CL009-084001-). Indicated and labelled ‘Standing Stone’ on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map. Listed at ‘Standing stone’ in the RMP (1996). This stone row (L 6.5m) comprises three limestone slabs set upright in a gryke and oriented NNE-SSW. The N stone (H 1.15m; Wth 1m; T 0.1m) has a rounded pointed top. Situated 1.7m to its SSW, the central stone (H 1.67m; Wth 1.4m; T 0.15m) is highest towards its N end. The flat-topped S stone (H 0.6m; Wth 1.2m; T 0.1m-0.15m) is 1.2m SSW of the central one. Coffey (1990, 61) suggested that these stones originally formed part of an ancient wall and that most of its stones were removed to build ‘a more modern wall close by’. The stone row forms part of a concentration of prehistoric monuments in the immediate vicinity that were investigated by Grant (1995, 31-3). The closest monuments in this ‘complex’ include: a wedge tomb (CL009-084007-), an unclassified megalithic tomb (CL009-084008-) and a cist (CL009-084009-), which lie c. 20m to the SE and another standing stone (CL009-084032-), which lies c. 21m to the E. (Westropp 1907, 470) Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Conn Herriott Date of upload: 26 April 2022

Probably dating to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, the stone row in Cahermackirilla may have had ceremonial or territorial significance, aligning with broader ritual practices in the landscape. Its placement on a plateau suggests a possible function in marking boundaries, navigation, or astronomical observation.

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