Mayo County Council blame department for delay in Bohea Stone transfer

Mayo County Council says its request for a meeting on the future of the 6,000-year-old stone art site has gone unanswered since December

By Jack Good Published 29th Sep 2026, 08:30 BST Michael Gibbons speaking at the Bohea Stone, near Westport | The Mayo News Mayo County Council says its request for a meeting on the future of the 6,000-year-old stone art site has gone unanswered since December Mayo County Council is still waiting for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to meet it about transferring the land around the Boheh Stone to the State. The Council says it first raised the idea more than four years ago, the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District was told on Monday.

Cllr Peter Flynn has raised the issue and told the meeting: “I appreciate we're relying on others to make this happen, but we really do need to move on it.”

No plans to develop 6,000 year old Mayo 'Rolling Sun' Boheh Stone site - Mayo County Council Should 6,000 year old Mayo 'Rolling Sun' Boheh Stone art be better protected? Sign up to our Mayo Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Mayo Live within your account.

In a memo from Heritage Officer Deirdre Cunningham, the Council said it wrote to Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne, TD, on December 18, 2025 seeking a meeting with him or his officials on the site's future. No meeting has taken place. A follow-up request has recently been issued.

The Boheh Stone, near Westport, is National Monument number 530 and is in State ownership. The outcrop carries more than 250 carved motifs, mainly cups, cup-and-rings and keyhole designs, on every surface. It is regarded as one of the finest collections of Neolithic rock art in Ireland and Britain.

National monuments in State care are looked after jointly by the National Monuments Service, part of the Department, and the Office of Public Works (OPW). The OPW project-manages conservation, while the Department is responsible for the archaeological side. The Minister's consent is required for any works at or near such a monument.

The land around the stone is registered to Mayo County Council . It includes a semi-derelict house and garden, and the access to the stone is shared with the entrance to that property.

In 2014 the Council drew up a Part 8 planning proposal to partly demolish and renovate the property and to provide five car parking spaces for visitors. Ministerial consent was not granted.

In late 2021, senior officials from the Council, the OPW and the National Monuments Service met on site to discuss options for managing the site. One was transferring the property to the State.

The Council now considers that transfer the best option. It says it would allow a “streamlined, practical and effective” approach to managing the whole site. It would also improve visitor access, enhance presentation and protect the stone, and it would support improvement works.

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Local representatives and campaigners have raised concerns about wear on the carvings. Emily Bracken, whose father Gerry Bracken discovered the 'Rolling Sun' alignment between the stone and Croagh Patrick , has written to the National Monuments Service. She is seeking a ministerial protection order and says erosion, worsened by weather and by people walking on the stone, has been flagged for more than thirty years.

Statements reported by The Mayo News in August add to the uncertainty. The OPW said it was “unaware of any proposal relating to these lands” and that it intends only minor maintenance works at the site before the end of the year. The Council said at the time that it was not in the process of selling its lands at the Boheh Stone to the OPW. The Council's memo, however, says its preferred outcome is a transfer to the State.