Laois Bullaun Stones

Unfortunately like many antiquities from times past Bullaun Stones are scarce in the Laois landscape.

Laois is a County in which a great many examples of prehistoric architecture ranging from Portal Dolmens, Passage tombs, Standing stones, Wedge tombs and a host of other field monuments are all too conspicuous by their absence.

Presumably this state of affairs has been caused by centuries of neglect and a general lack of interest combined with old pre legislative farming clearances, an almost non existent tourism sector and a continuity of political representation which has no particular interest for investing in history, culture nor heritage for its own sake or intrinsic value.

Leaving aside for the moment the paucity of ancient relics in the County there are a limited number of known and recorded Bullaun Stones in Laois and I've previously covered the Bullauns of Ireland in detail on another post.

Not far from "Chicken Byrne" hill in Laois at a place known as Killone on Kilmurray Hill is a large roadside Bullaun Stone pictured below.

I searched for it a couple of times and eventually found it buried along a ditch under brambles and weeds, neglected and forgotten. On each subsequent visit I had to remove the weeds and regrown overgrowth to photograph the stone.

Whilst I uncovered it from the vegetation on my visits it's most likely that today it is once again buried in vegetative growth but feel free to have a look for it yourself.

 It is a reasonably large stone with a single Bullaun but while I didn't get a full look at the back of it there may be another depression there, I'm not sure however it's listed as a single Bullaun.

It's possible this stone had significance in religious ceremony or was once part of an ecclesiastical  site. There is an old ruined Church nearby.

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Going from the large to the small brings me to an extremely small Bullaun Stone beside Saint Fintan's Well at Cromogue in Laois which is not too far from Shanahoe.

This little stone may once have been used as a Font at the nearby Church ruins. That's just a wild guess on my part as I don't really know.

The site is well worth visiting and very well looked after.

It's a nice spot to visit and very tranquil besides. It's reputed that there was once a Togher 

(an old roadway/causeway) 

which ran from here to the monastic site at Clonenagh outside Mountrath.

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Not far from Ballybuggy outside Rathdowney in Laois is a very interesting Bullaun Stone. It is known as Saint Brigid's Stone.

This Bullaun Stone is set standing vertically and is unusual in that aspect. Usually Bullaun Stones are "sat" naturally in such a position as that the Bullaun or "bowl" can be used as a natural container.

There are Church ruins here (subsurface chiefly) which seem quite old, a small Grotto, a Graveyard and "mound" like features dotted about which are suggestive of a once substantial ecclesiastical site. 

Only archaeological investigation would reveal more about this bucolic and secluded site.

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At a place called "Old Kyle" or Clonfertmulloe is a large Bullaun Stone containing multiple depressions and dedicated to Saint Molua.

(Molua's Trough is located not far away in church grounds at Ballaghmore)

The depressions on the stone are said to be from the knee's and hand's of the Saint as he kneeled in Prayer.

My photographs were taken in very bad light.

At some time in the distant past there was a Romanesque Church located here but it has long since fallen down. Saint Molua is reputedly buried here somewhere but I couldn't find the location of his grave on any of my visits. It must be unmarked which is a great shame.

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At Morette in Laois is another Bullaun Stone dedicated to Saint Brigid.

It is located beside a devotional Statue and is now on private land.

 

There is a Church ruin nearby. While the Grotto was very well maintained and cared for it was dreadful to see access to the site which was once a place of pilgrimage, penance, and devotion blocked off.

I don't know how things like this are rectified and access made easy. Perhaps it requires more cooperation between landowners and Local authorities.

In an ideal world no ancient site, especially not one which was once a place of worship would have access blocked to the ordinary citizens. 

This Bullaun Stone has a single depression and also an unusual channel running along it lengthwise.

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There is at least one more Bullaun Stone listed in Laois while perhaps many others lie buried deep under earth, mud and detritus, long forgotten about.

They are a wonderful enigmatic relic whose original functions remain shrouded in mystery.

Keep the wheels turning.