Various functions for the Punchestown Standing Stone, in County Kildare, have been suggested: perhaps it was a burial markers, or a boundary stone or perhaps it signified a cult belief. Its exact use during Celtic times is unknown, one can only ponder on the possibilities. What is certain is that this is the tallest and most remarkable of several long stones found in County Kildare.
Now standing 6m high, it was re-erected in 1934 having toppled from its tilted position three years earlier. It's overall length when measured on the ground was 7m and it weighed 9.22 tons. A Bronze Age cist was uncovered at the foot of the monument. Many such pillar stones are thought to mark burials but few have been excavated. The stone is located beside Punchestown Racecourse and is one of a group that makes up a circle 5km in diameter.
