Rude Stone Monuments in All Countries: Their Age and UsesFergusson, James
History
Rude Stone Monuments in All Countries: Their Age and Uses
Fergusson, James
Megalithic monuments
Vague as all this may probably appear, there is one dolmen in Ireland
which seems to have a date. The great grandson of Dathi, whose red
pillar-stone at Rath Croghan, erected A.D. 428, we have
already pointed out, was named Ceallach. He was murdered by his four
foster-brothers through envy about the sovereignty. They were hanged
for their crime at a spot known as Ard-na-Riagh, near Ballina, and were
buried on a hill on the opposite side of the river, where a dolmen
still stands, and is pointed out as the grave of the four Maols, the
murderers. These particulars are related in the Dinnsenchus, in the
Book of Lecan, and in the Annals of the Hy Fiachrach, translated by Dr.
O'Donovan (p. 35), who, in a note, adds that "this evidence, coupled
with the description of the situation on the other side of the Moy,
opposite Ard-na-Riagh, leaves no doubt of its identity."
The dolmen in question has nothing very remarkable about it. The
cap-stone, which measures 9 feet by 7 feet, is hexagonal in form, and
is supported on three uprights, arranged similarly to those of Kit's
Cotty House. It is perfectly level, and stands about 4 feet above
the level of the soil. The cap-stone may have been fashioned into
its present form by art; but there is no sign of chiselling, and,
altogether there is nothing that would attract especial attention.[264]
The interest rests with its date. If it can be established that it
belongs to the beginning of the sixth century, which I see no more
reason for doubting than Dr. O'Donovan does, it is a point gained in
our investigation, in so far at least as dates are concerned.
It would be tedious to enumerate the other dolmens in Ireland which
have neither dates nor peculiarities to distinguish them from others
of this class, but there is one monument of a megalithic character in
Ireland which must be described before leaving the country, though it
certainly is not a dolmen, and its date and use are both mysterious at
present.
[Illustration: 83. Sketch-Plan of Monument in the Deer Park, Sligo.
Scale 40 feet to 1 inch.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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