[marie matthews]

Does any body have any information about the Bocan Stone Circle in North East Inishowen. I visited the site last year but have been unable to find out anything about it.

Marie

[Diego]

Dear Marie,
According to our megalithic guru, Aubrey Burl, Bocan stone circle (Map ref. C544475) lies in pasture among rough moorland and offers extensive views. Also known as Culdaff it is in dreadful condition. There are conflicting claims that it once consisted of three concentric rings or was a devastated round cairn.
In 1816 twelve stones stood there in a circle said to be about 18m (60ft) in diameter but today only seven remain in the NW and SW quadrants. They are between 1.2m (4ft) and 2.1m (7ft) high. Others lie prostrate and broken. The site have been an ellipse about 23m SSE NNW by 20m (75 x 65ft).
Boyle Somerville surveyed the ring in 1928. From a 1.5m (5ft) high stone at the SE, on whose inner face he thought there might be very weathered cupmarks, to a higher a the NW, 1.9m (6ft 5ins) in height, he deduced an alignment to the midsummer sun setting behind Farragan Hill five miles away.
Half a mile to the SE (Map Ref. C537470), is the ruined court-cairn of Larranghirril, the Druid's Altar. This, claimed John Toland in the early 18th century, was the grave of the druidess, Gealcossa, the white-legged, and not far away was the stone circle, "Her temple; being a sort of diminutive Stonehenge, which many of the Irish dare not even at this day in any way profane". Things have changed.

Hope this helps!

Paola & Diego
Stone Pages

PS
You can find very detailed information on every stone circle of Britain, Ireland and Brittany on Aubrey Burl's excellent A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany