Overview
Killycluggin (Irish: Coill an Chlogáin, ‘the Wood of the Bell-Shaped Stone’) is a townland in the civil parish of Templeport, about 5 km south-west of Ballyconnell in County Cavan. It covers 76 statute acres of drumlin, stream and old quarry, crossed by the trackbed of the closed Cavan-Leitrim Railway. Ten families lived here in the 1901 census, nine by 1911. Ordinary enough countryside, except that a plough once turned up one of the most important pre-Christian carved stones in Ireland.
One thing to know before you set out: the original stone is not here. What stands at the site is a replica and a faint circle in a field. The two genuine fragments are behind glass in Cavan County Museum, 40 minutes away in Ballyjamesduff, and that is the better single stop if you only make one.
The stone circle and the monolith
The oldest visible feature is a Bronze Age stone circle (site 62 in the Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan), roughly 22 m by 18.6 m, originally of eighteen stones. A handful remain upright and the layout is still traceable across the field.
At its centre once stood the Killycluggin Stone, a decorated monolith cut with La Tène motifs – the sweeping curves and hair-spring spirals of Iron Age Celtic art. Archaeologists read it as a cultic marker or idol. It came to light on a drizzly April day around 1922 (sources differ between 1921 and 1922), when a plough on William Bannon’s farm, behind Currin National School, struck the buried stone and broke it, exposing the carving.
It was excavated in 1974 by Barry Raftery and Ned Kelly, who found it had been deliberately buried in two pieces in a shallow pit, with burnt bone in nearby pits pointing to ritual use. A second carved fragment, likely from its domed top, lay further down the slope. The surviving stone is about 1.2 m high with a base circumference of roughly 3.6 m – not the towering pillar it is sometimes described as, but a squat, heavily worked block. After study at the National Museum of Ireland, the fragments were placed in Cavan County Museum.
Legends & Local Lore
The monolith is famously associated with Crom Cruach, a pre-Christian deity recorded in early Irish texts as demanding tribute. Medieval manuscripts describe worshippers offering first-born children by striking them against the idol’s surface. While historians debate the literal accuracy of these accounts, the association cemented the stone’s place in Irish folklore.
A parallel legend credits Saint Patrick with the stone’s destruction. According to tradition, Patrick struck the idol with his crozier, shattering it and driving the “evil spirit” within into Hell. The visible impact marks on the surviving fragments align with this narrative, blending archaeological reality with centuries of oral storytelling.
The townland also sits on the historic plain of Magh Slecht (the “Plain of Prostrations”), the legendary setting for the ancient Battle of Magh Slecht. The landscape itself acts as a living archive, where myth and material history overlap.
What to see and do
- View the replica stone – a full-scale replica stands at Killycluggin crossroads, on the Ballymagauran side of the R205, close to the find spot, with an interpretive panel explaining the monolith’s decoration and context.
- Walk the stone circle – follow the field path around the remaining orthostats; the 22 m circle is still readable, with the entrance stones oriented east to the rising sun.
- Explore the ring-forts – two earthen ring-forts (sites 774 and 775) mark the western edge of the townland, one bisected by the old railway, with the collapsed mouth of a souterrain showing as a depression in the bank.
- See the originals in the museum – the two fragments are in Cavan County Museum in Ballyjamesduff, one of very few aniconic carved stones of this type known in Ireland and the only one held in a county collection. The same museum holds the three-faced Corleck Head, Sheela-na-gigs, bog butter, and the largest outdoor replica First World War trench open to the public in Ireland or Britain. That is reason enough to make the museum the main event and the field the footnote.
Practical information
Killycluggin is an open-air site with no ticket office, visitor centre or amenities. It is free and open at any reasonable hour. Most people pair it with the museum.
Getting there
- By car: from Ballyconnell, head south-west on the R205 for about 5 km. There is no formal parking; an informal lay-by near the crossroads serves the replica and the circle.
- By bus: the nearest services are at Bawnboy (Martin Leydon Coaches run to Cavan twice daily, Monday to Saturday) or Ballyconnell; from either it is a taxi or a walk along minor lanes.
- By rail: the old Cavan-Leitrim Railway trackbed crosses the townland, but no service runs.
Visiting the site
- The circle is on private farmland. Keep to the path, respect field boundaries, and do not climb on the stones.
- Dogs are welcome on a lead and under close control.
- The stone is protected by a preservation order (PO no. 17/1933) under the National Monuments Acts 1930–2014. Do not disturb the earthworks or attempt to excavate.
- Low light early or late in the day throws the carving on the replica into relief and makes it easier to read.
Cavan County Museum
The museum is housed in a former Poor Clare convent of 1872 in Ballyjamesduff.
- Opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10am – 4.15pm (last entry 4.15pm; closed Sunday and Monday)
- Admission: adults €6, children/students €4, seniors €4, family ticket €14
- Facilities: fully accessible building, tea-room and children’s playground. No booking needed for individuals; groups should contact the museum.
Nearby Attractions
- Cavan County Museum – Home to the original Killycluggin fragments and a comprehensive collection of local archaeology.
- Ballyconnell Bridge and Canal Walk – A short drive away, this riverside promenade follows the historic Royal Canal route.
- Battle of Magh Slecht – Read more about the legendary conflict that shaped the mythic landscape surrounding Killycluggin.
- Ballyjamesduff – A well-served market town with independent shops, traditional pubs, and the county museum.
Do the field first, twenty minutes to walk the circle and read the panel, then drive to Ballyjamesduff and give the museum the rest of the day, where the real stone, plough-scarred and spiral-carved, sits behind glass.