Irish grid reference: N 9171 1656. This very impressive Bronze-Age standing stone known as Long Stone Of Punchestown, or Punchestown Standing Stone, one of the finest examples of its kind, according to ‘Nicholson’s Guide To Ireland,’ stands surrounded by a wooden fence in a field just outside the perifery of Punchestown racecourse, just to the east of Craddockstown road, and south of the town of Naas, in County Kildare. However the monument is not that easy to reach. It is almost certainly the tallest standing stone in Ireland and is similar to some of the standing stones that are to be found in Brittany. In 1931 it fell over but it was re-erected 3 years later and, at the same time a burial cist was found at its base. There are several other standing stones in this area but none of them are as tall as this particular one. The town of Naas is 1 mile to the north, Blessington is 3 miles to the south-east on the R410 road, Kildare is 7 miles to the west on the M7, while the city of Dublin is 5 miles north-east on the N81 and N82 roads.

Today the granite standing stone of Punchestown is only 5.7 metres high (19.6 feet) having originally being a massive 7.1 metres high (23 feet); its circumference at its square-shaped base is 11 feet, but this gradually gets less as the stone tapers away to its shaped-needle point at the top. However beneath the ground the stone is said to be dug in by several feet. In 1931 the stone fell over but was re-erected in 1934 by less than 3 feet because it was considered to be unsafe due to the extra height. Whilst it was being re-erected a cist-type grave was discovered at the base, although no human bones or grave-goods were found. It is said to weigh over 9 tonnes. There are another seven tall standing stones in County Kildare, two of which can each be found respectively:- just along the road at Craddockstown West, and at Furness, near Naas, stands The Forenaghts Great Stone, although neither of these can really rival The Longstone of Punchestown

According to legend, the stone was hurled by the mythical Irish giant Finn MacCumhaill at his wife, who just so happened to be in Punchestown at the time, from the Hill of Allen to the north-east, or from the Hill of Tara, in County Meath, but as was always the case, he missed her! Another legend tells us that a local big-wig Viscount Allen wanted the stone for his mansion garden some 14 miles away, so he had a number oxen made ready and yoked-up for the effort, but they could only pull it out so far, making it lean at a precarious angle; he eventually gave up and left the stone where it had stood for thousands of years. Apparently the Welsh cleric and historian, Gerald of Wales, made mention of the standing stone when he toured southern Ireland in the 12th century.

Sources:

Nicholson – Guide To Ireland, Robert Nicholson Publications Limited, London W1, 1983.

Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide To Ireland, (First Edition), The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, London W1X, 1992.

http://www.megalithicireland.com/Punchestown%20Longstone.htm

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