Cloch á Bhíle: The Stone of the Sacred Tree

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Cloch á Bhíle: The Stone of the Sacred Tree

Said to have been used as an inauguration stone for the kings of Munster, the Cloch á Bhíle (Stone of the Sacred Tree), lies within 100m of the Grange Lios Stone Circle in Co. Limerick. The Stone is said to represent a mythical tree that grows at the bottom of the nearby Lough Gur, which according to legend, rises to the surface once every seven years. The stone itself is about 5ft tall, 7ft x 4ft in diameter and orientated Northeast-Southwest. With its strangely eroded form covered in mosses, it does resemble a trunkless tree and it easy to see where the mythical association may come from. The Stone of the Sacred Tree is most likely a representation of the Celtic Tree of Life (or ‘Yggdrasil’ from the Norse Myths) and it is said that, if prayed to, the stone has the power to re-grow all the trees of the world.

Monumental Ireland - Cloch á Bhíle

Cloch á Bhíle: The Stone of the Sacred Tree