Discovered Bronze Age monument on Mayo island may have given name to townland

An archeologist who was involved in the discovery of an ancient Bronze Age monument on Achill believes the large stone structure may be the reason behind the name of the townland it was located in.

The ancient Bronze Age monument made up of three large stone structures was discovered in Cloughmore on Achill Island during an archaeological field trip with US students from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

The archeological team believe the stone structure had hidden ancient trees and were discovered after they were felled by Storm Éowyn in January.

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The US students had been spending part of their semester at the University of Galway and Kylemore Abbey and Galway-based archaeologist Michael Gibbons believes the structure may be responsible for the name of the local townland.

“The site in question is a stunning Bronze Age stone alignment in Cloughmore townland, overlooking Achill Sound opposite the mountains of the Corraun Peninsula. The site consists of two upright standing stones with a third lying collapsed close by. The largest of the stones is more than 2.4 metres in height and may even have given its name to the townland, An Chloch Mhór - the big stone," he told RTÉ.

The monument is located close to the ruins of 17th century Kildownet Church and Cemetery and Mr Gibbons believes that area was an ancient area for burials.

"While only a few have been excavated, stone alignments have been known to mark burial locations - with 3,000-year-old cremation burials contained within pottery vessels buried beneath the stones. The site is aligned North-South and may have an astronomical significance," he said.

Mr Gibbons together with Seán Ó Coisdealbha, a poet and historian from An Spidéal in Co Galway, have uncovered significant historical artefacts and sites in Conamara and on Achill.

“We're right beside Kildownet here which would have been a monastic settlement in medieval times. We're near Kildownet Castle which is known as Grainne Mhaol's Tower here in the O'Malley heartland.

“So, the significance of An Chloch Mhór, which basically is two huge standing stones, and one fallen, is that we are back to prehistoric times, and we're back to an age of early farming. Neolithic times, where woman and man, ancient people, left something behind, a territorial mark, a territorial stone, a boundary stone. This could be an ancient portal where people moved from one existence to another,” Mr Ó Coisdealbha claimed.