I first spotted the name Catstone on one of the old 1840's maps for the Dromineer area. It of course reminded me of the famous Catstone at Uisneach in Co. Westmeath, thought to be the mythical centre of Ireland.
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| Cats Stone marked on the old 1840's maps (Copyright NMS) |
"Situated just off crest of rise in very undulating pastureland. Large conglomerate of sedimentary rock, obviously layered with quartz pebbles. This is a large, roughly rectangular erratic (3.4m x 2.5m; H 1.3m on N side; H 2.2m on S side) resting on ground surface. Not an archaeological monument, though it is marked on 1st (1840) ed. as 'Stone' with typical depiction of pillar stone."
I visited it one day a couple of years ago to see what it looked like and it does look similar to the one at Uisneach. As above there was nothing to suggest it is anything other than a natural erratic boulder.
Later I found reference to it in Martin Power's book "Dear Land, Native Place" in which he had this to say about it;
"On George Clarke's farm at Shannonhall, Dromineer, there stands a single large stone which is map-listed as a "Cat-stone". This stone which stands alone on high ground in a large field is visible from long distances, particularly from the high Owney and Arra area.
The stone is not part of an outcrop, but stands free, being narrowest at base. It is about 10 feet high with a circumference measure of 39ft at the centre height. It is conglomerate substance, containing particles of many types of stone. It is native to the west of Ireland, and was pushed by the glaciers to its present location in the great Ice Age. There are a number of cat-stones about Ireland, some much larger than the one in Shannonhall. They are of great antiquity. It is generally accepted that they once represented "markers" of areas where boundaries met. The boundary lines would have been marked by heavy wooden posts or trees. It is generally believed that cat-stones were used as meeting places or perhaps more correctly as "assembly places" at times of Inaugeration or even before battle. At the risk of error I would venture to say that the name of Cat-Stone derives from the stone in appearance resembling a crouching cat. Full marks to George Clarke and his predecessors for preserving this important monument, where others, less caring might have removed it."
So does this stone mark the boundary between Ormond and Owney & Arra? Although geographically it fits it seems unlikely as that would suggest it would have to be moved into position to fit this border.
Does it look like a cat? Well personally I never really saw the cat shape in the Cat Stone at Uisneach. However this is of similar shape to the one at Uisneach so perhaps so.
It seems more likely to me that it was utilised as a natural landmark for meetings etc. However it is not currently possible to see it from the nearby road. It should be possible to observe it from the lake and Martin suggests that it can be seen from "high Owney and Arra". This is not something I have seen myself.
Lastly are there any other instances of Cat-stones around Ireland other than here and at Uisneach? I haven't came across any other references.
Edit:
It seems likely that the name of stone here refers to the townland of Carrow just to the south of it.
Carrow comes from the Irish Ceathru which would be pronounced "Cat" ru and it is probable that is this was the "Cat" ru stone and later Cats stone. Thanks to Gillies Macbain who suggested the meaning on facebook.
https://www.logainm.ie/en/46616
It is on the border between two baronies - Lower Ormond & the half barony of Arra but I don't know if that would be enough for it to become of importance.
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