Ireland's 'Long Meg'

Ballymote and Long Meg - The Comparisons

Ballymote, (left above) which is Waterford’s tallest standing stone has been frequently compared to the “Long Meg” standing stone in Cumbria, England.

Long Meg is a famous old Red Sandstone monolith which is an outlying stone of one of Britain’s finest Stone Circles while Ballymote is possibly a local stone which may have been quarried from a nearby rock outcrop. However, the stones do share a similar profile and are also very comparable in height with Ballymote at 3.7 meters and Long Meg just a bit shorter at 3.6 meters tall.

Long Meg is orientated S-W while Ballymote’s orientation is an a WNW – ESE direction.

Unlike the Ballymote example, the Cumbrian stone is decorated with Megalithic rock art, having a series of cup and ring marks.

Long Meg photo courtesy of Phil Brown - Visit the Website

Article first published December 2011