Aughacasla Standing Stone

In the west of Ireland on the Dingle peninsula in the town of Aughacasla there is a tall stone standing between the Slieve Mish mountains and Tralee bay. It's about fifteen feet tall weighing at least several tons. Such standing stones are generally thought to date back to the Bronze Age and their purpose is not known. 

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The Aughacasla stone however has some unusual features indicating it was a center of attention in more modern times. Several modifications have been made involving concrete or stucco. With these modifications it is made to resemble a statue of a king or religious figure.

Concrete steps have been cast around at the base and the top has been stuccoed to resemble a head with an impish grin, with what appears to be a crown of some kind. The steps include some rough stones curiously cast into the top step for some reason.

The stuccoing extends quite a bit down the the stone, as shown below, and perhaps once covered the entire stone although if so much of it has flaked off.

The stone appears to directly face the nearby mountain of Cummeen, at a bearing of about 213°. Cummeen reaches a height of 1565 feet and is an impressive peak in view of the stone.

The position of the stone, determined by GPS, is 52.24406°N, 9.98351°W.

There is also a good view of Stradbally Mountain to the southwest, whose summit reaches 2610 feet.

I asked a woman who grew up around there if she knew anything about the stone--she just smiled and said that the local story was that it was thrown down from the mountain and stuck in the ground just like that--not sure if she was talking about Cummeen or Stradbally. Another local woman said that she heard it was a navigational marker for ships! I was surprised the locals don't have more curiosity about the megalith beyond folk legends, especially since the stone has been modified in relatively recent times although it might have been a hundred years ago.

Perhaps a clue to the date of modifications might be the technique used to cast the stairs. The detail views above show impressions of the mold used, especially in the corners.

To find the stone, take the N86 road west from Tralee, travel about nine miles to the town of Camp, pass through Camp about three more miles and you will see the Tralee Bay Hotel on your left. Immediately west of the hotel is a small road forking off to the right. This leads to the Anchor Caravan Park at Aughacasla. Take it and follow it over a small bridge (be sure to honk your horn in case there are pedestrians or another car on the other side). After about half a mile you will pass a small cottage with a red-roofed attachment:

Just past the cottage is a small hayfield containing the stone.

If anyone has any information or thoughts on the history of this stone, I'd appreciate an email! By the way, the town of Camp improbably has a great internet cafe with high speed connections (one Irish pound per fifteen minutes). Look for the sign on the main road.

Local lodging: Comfort Inn, Tralee

Joe Knapp, jmk@copperas.com, Columbus, Ohio, USA