Pickardstown

Pickardstown standing stone is located in what could be truly called an ancient landscape. The stone, with a rounded tip, stands 1.5 metres tall on a spur of a hill with valleys on each side to the East and West and just a glimpse of the Celtic sea horizon to the south.

Set in what looks like a strategic location, the monument, though not very big, stands out in the landscape and can be seen from more than 1km away across the rolling fields. It is oriented in a NE-SW direction.

About 200 metres to its east side there is the ruins of an early Christian church with its crumbling gable next to an ancient stonewalled roadway. One could consider that the siting for this church was influenced by the already present stone across the valley whose profile in silhouette is not very unlike that of a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The whole area, though not very far away from a busy secondary road, exudes a special sense of calm and of a very distant and sacred past.

View from the east valley

Directions: From Waterford City take the R675 for Tramore. Beyond Katie Reilly’s pub (Half Way House) on the right, take the second turn right over a small bridge. Travel about 1km up this narrow road to the last bungalow where the road veers right and you can see a farm path in front going downwards.

From here you can see the stone in the distance to the south-east in front of a small forrest. Walk down the pathway for about 150 yards to a gate. Cross three fields to reach the site.

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Other sites in this area - Carriglong, Tramore West, Tramore Burrow, Kilbride South