This is one lovely stone located in a lovely spot. The curvey, wave-shaped stone stands on top of a rocky outcrop, currently hidden behind some gorse bushes. The most famous pictures of this show it from the bottom of the outcrop, standing proud with nothing but sky behind it. This angle was not possible at the time of this visit.
The problem with the 'famous' angle is that it makes the stone look much bigger than its 1.3m height.
Obviously, as you can tell from its name, this stone has a hole drilled through it, which is much worn. The hole is about 5cm in diameter at its narrowest and situated around waist height in the stone - I shall say no more.
It is associated with marriages, where the bride and groom would hold hands through the hole during the ceremony.
Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image
_
_
_All Sites Visited On 27th July 2002 « Previous Site Next Site »
No trip to south Antrim with a bit of spare time would seem natural without a trip to see this glorious stone. It definitely ranks among the most touchy-feely stones in Ireland!
I hadn't realised that the top of the rocky outcrop that it stands upon is actually so inaccessible. I had forgotten that the only way up to the stone was to climb some rough rock-cut steps. The outcrop forms a natural plateau and it's perfect for carrying out marriages on, allowing the attendees to stand around its base and watch.
This made me think of one other thing - was this site ever a Royal Inauguration site?
Sadly the gorse hasn't been seen to and now obscures the stone from below even more than it did when I first came here. The hole is aligned northeast-southwest, but the gorse bushes mean it will be impossible to observe if the beam of light caused by the rising Summer Solstice sun shining through the hole falls on anything significant.
Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image
_
_
_
_From antrim take the B95 west and pass beneath the motorway until you reach Parkgate. 150m after passing the church in Parkgate turn left and follwo the road around until you reach the B59. Turn left and head north for just over 1km and turn right. The stone is signposted on the right hand side of the road after 500m.
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Castletown (Co. Wexford) |  Croghan Middle (Co. Wexford) |  Ahaun (Co. Waterford) |
 Cloncanon (Co. Offaly) |  Kilmogue (Co. Kilkenny) |  Bolart North (Co. Offaly) |
