Images (2)
Fieldnotes (1)
Miscellaneous (1)

Images

Image of Ballinlug (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by CianMcLiam

Looking over the stone and the piled up ruins of the cottage that belonged to its guardian for many years.

Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2012

CianMcLiam Feb 19, 2012

The pile of moss covered stones in the background is the remains of the old cottage at this site outside which this stone was propped up shortly after it was found.

Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2012

CianMcLiam Feb 19, 2012

Articles

Ballinlug

Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art

CianMcLiam Feb 19, 2012

This carved stone was found buried in a field nearby many years ago and was temporarily set into a wall before being moved to the front of a farmers cottage for safe keeping.
The cottage now lies in a forgotten pile of stone in the corner of a field and I was not very hopeful of locating the rock art. However, after hacking through the undergrowth for a while this stone stood out as the largest on top of the pile and moving a decaying tree trunk revealed the carvings underneath, still in an excellent state of preservation.

It is the only example of rock art so far discovered in Co. Westmeath.

Ballinlug

Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art

CianMcLiam Feb 19, 2012

Concentric Circle and Cup-marked Stone in Westmeath.
A short time ago Mr. George Kelly, m.a., of County Roscommon, mentioned to me that he noticed a curious stone at the right side of the Ballymahon road, a short distance outside the village of Rathcondra, that he thought it would be worth looking up. A few weeks afterwards Mr. N. J. Downes and I visited the district, and found at the place indicated (Ballinlug near Rathconrath) a very good specimen of concentric circle and cup ornamentation, incised on a large block of millstone grit. The stone is of rather regular shape and not native of the district. It is 34 inches across, 19 inches in height, and 10 inches thick, and resembles the kind of slab used for covering pagan cists, which are very numerous in this part of Westmeath. Ballinlug is quite near Uisneach, and just a mile off in the townland of Glascorn is the great Rath Lochaid, which according to the Four Masters was erected in the time of Nial Faidh, son of Eremon, a.m. 3529 (F. M., vol. i, page 37, identified in index as Glascorn, Westmeath). The outermost of the concentric circles, of which there are three, is 11 inches in diameter, the other 7 and 5 inches. The inside of the smallest circle is cup-hollowed to a depth of about 1 inch. Running through the lower part of the circles is a radial groove, which, however, might tend to show that it was not a cist-cover. On the left are two diagonal grooves. There are Hive cup-markings at the top right-hand corner, and two others near the top, over the circles. So far as I know this is the first concentric circle ornament discovered in Westmeath.
Some years ago this stone was taken from the adjoining field and used in the erection of the wall, the mason placing it with the carved side inwards. In more recent times, the wall requiring ^to be rebuilt, the carved side was turned outwards to face the road. While we were engaged in taking a rubbing from the stone and photographing it, about half a dozen persons came to look on. We told them something about its history, and they at once became interested and anxious to help us. This and similar experiences I have had show me clearly that all that is wanted to secure the support of the people in the preservation of our historic monuments is to tell them what the monuments are and what they represent. In about a week after our first visit we returned to the place, but the stone was gone. We were certainly amazed. However, in a few minutes an old woman came on the scene, and told us that Mr. Donohoe, who owns a little farm at the other side of the wall, hearing that the stone was valuable, had removed it to the yard of his nice cottage, where it now serves as a seat along side the door. There no doubt it is safer than it was in the wall. We received a hearty welcome from Mr. Donohoe. He and his brother that day showed us many kindnesses by bringing us around to see other antiquities, and, when leaving them, we felt that we had done a good day’s work in the cause of local antiquarian research.
—James Tuite, Local Hon. Secretary for South Westmeath.

The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Sixth Series, Vol. 3, No. 2(Jun. 30, 1913), pp. 180-182Published by: Royal Society of Antiquaries of IrelandStable URL: jstor.org/stable/25517390