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Giant’s
Stone finally unveiled
Last Sunday was a very special day in the history of Crosshaven,
as the 'Giant's Stone' was finally unveiled. The
stone was found during excavations recently, having been
missing for many years, and it now stands, pride of place,
in the centre of the village.
Local historian Diarmuid O Murchadha performed the unveiling
along with Eddie Cogan of Crosshaven in front of a large
gathering of local residents on a cold winter’s evening,
prior to the official switching-on of this year’s Christmas
lights.
Speaking at the unveiling of the massive boulder, which
has been placed on a granite plinth which was designed by
Carrigaline-based artist Peadar Drinan, the former principal
of Crosshaven Boys’ National School told a couple of
versions of the story of the origin of the ‘Giant’s
Stone’ which has become part and parcel of the folklore
of Crosshaven down the years.
One story, by Robert Day back in 1892, told of a giant called
‘Mahain’ who threw two stones from Monkstown -
one landing in Ringaskiddy and the other in Crosshaven.
The other more common story told of a giant called ‘Binne’,
who lived in Currabinny and who cast the stone into Crosshaven
many years ago, where it came to rest on the foreshore near
the present site of Crosshaven House.
There is a ‘Giant's Grave’ in Currabinny - a large
pre-historic grave - which was excavated by archaeologist
Sean P. O’Riordan back in 1932. He found cremated human
remains on the site dating back to the bronze age times
of about 4,000 years ago, further fuelling the giant’s
story locally!
“However, despite the magic of local folklore, the
stone was probably deposited in Crosshaven during the ice
age 20,000 years ago and I am hoping that the stone would
be part of the history and folklore of the village for the
next 20,000 years!”, Mr. O Murchadha added.
The ‘Giant's Stone’ disappeared when the ‘slob’
in the centre of Crosshaven was filled in, back in the 1960s,
and only came to light last year with the redevelopment
of the centre of the village and now stands in pride of
place in the new village car park.
Diarmuid O Murchadha recalled the fun youngsters had many
years ago playing around the ‘Giant’s Stone’,
complete with its own set of giant fingerprints embedded
into the stone, and was delighted that a piece of local
folklore, which had been lost for the past 40 years, was
now attracting as much interest and attention as it did
generations ago.
Grateful thanks was expressed to Sorensons who found the
boulders, Michael Kavanagh of O’Flynn Construction,
the West Cork LEADER Group, Cork County Council, and the
Crosshaven Development Committee, headed by Maurice Collins,
and a dedicated team of locals who collected the cost of
erecting the plinth.
A special mention was given to Peadar Drinan who design
the granite plinth where the boulder now rests, with an
inscription around the base which reads: ‘This is the
boulder which, according to local tradition, was hurled
by a giant from the hill of Currabinny, to land on Crosshaven’s
foreshore nearby.” Special mention was also made of
Eddie Cogan for his perseverance and dedication to the project.
Courtesy of Howard Crowdy and the Southern Star
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