What is recorded here

Thiefs Stone marks a roadside in County Kerry where a holy man allegedly pinned a thief’s foot and a cow’s hoof into separate rocks. One stone still stands eighty-one centimetres high beside the boundary fence while its partner has sunk from sight. The story turns ordinary greed into visible punishment, preserving the exact moment cunning failed against sacred authority.

Cow and Thief's Stone described by Cuppage (1986, 323, no. 855) as follows; 'These are 2 stones set on either side of the roadway about 150m S of the graveyard [KE042-026017-]. The E stone stands 0.81m high at the base of the road boundary fence but the W stone is now buried. Legend tells of a thief who attempted to steal a cow but was prevented from doing so by a holy man who caused the thief's foot to stick in one stone and the cow's hoof to become embedded in the other (Curran no.8). It is not clear what the original purpose of these stones was or what, if any, was their relationship to the ecclesiastical site'.

Likely dating to the Bronze Age, the Thiefs Stone, Cill Maoilchéadair may have functioned as a boundary marker or ritual monument. Local tradition sometimes associates such stones with folklore involving protection from theft or as waypoints for spiritual journeys.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.