- Title: Reviving the ancient tradition of stone lifting in an Irish village
- Date: 4th November 2024
- Summary: OWNING, IRELAND (NOVEMBER 2, 2024) (REUTERS) STONE LIFTER DAVID KEOHAN PUTTING SUPPORT BELT ON AROUND HIS WAIST, PREPARING TO LIFT STONE KEOHAN APPLYING CHALK TO HIS HANDS KEOHAN LIFTING THE STONE, KNOWN AS "THE BULK", AND WALKING AROUND A TREE (SOUNDBITE) (English) STONE LIFTER, DAVID KEOHAN, SAYING: "What I'm doing is reviving an ancient culture, an ancient culture of st
- Embargoed: 18th November 2024 13:42
- Keywords: David Keohan Indiana Stones Ireland Owning ancient tradition stone lifting strong man the Bulk
- Location: OWNING, IRELAND
- City: OWNING, IRELAND
- Country: Ireland
- Topics: Europe,Human-Led Quirky,Human-Led Stories
- Reuters ID: LVA001692604112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Irish man David Keohan, also known as "Indiana Stones", is reviving the ancient tradition of stone lifting.
Putting on a support belt, chalking his hands and squatting beside a stone known as "The Bulk" he successfully lifts and carries the heavy rock around a tree in the village of Owning, in the south of Ireland.
The stone weighs 170kg (27 stone), he says.
The tradition, he says, was carried out as part of funeral games and other rites of passage, but also as a form of entertainment.
He added that lifting a stone is a very different activity to more mainstream weightlifting with specially-designed equipment.
Historically, men would routinely take bets on who could lift "The Bulk" longest and furthest - usually after a few pints of beer in the local pub, Keohan says.
The winner would then enjoy great social status, he adds.
(Production: Clodagh Kilcoyne, Amy Pollock) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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