Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Cross-slab
Cooly, County Donegal, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Cooly
- County
- Donegal
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 55.18884, -7.06085
- SMR number
- DG021-008020-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1881 "Ireland to Illustrate the Military Condition of the Country." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
The early ecclesiastical site here consists of a sub-rectangular shaped graveyard inside of which are a number of earlier features. The monastery is located on excellent land sloping to Lough Foyle to the E and is traditionally claimed to have been founded by St. Patrick (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 399; Lacy et. al. 1983, 261). A magnetometer survey carried out by the Bernician Studies Group in 2014 in the fields surrounding the churches (DG021-008002-/003-) and graveyard (DG021-008001-) at Cooly revealed the outline of the ecclesiastical enclosure (DG021-008----) of the Early Christian monastery of Cooly (O'Brien and Adams 2014, 4). The graveyard was subject to a clean-up scheme in 2010 which resulted in the discovery of several unrecorded cross-slabs. The Bernician Studies Group carried out a survey inside the graveyard and recorded twenty cross slabs, 10 of which were ringed cross-inscribed slabs. One of these slabs consists of the lower half of a cross-slab decorated with an incised shaft with pointed terminal (O'Brien and Adams 2014, 5). This slab has been inserted sideways into the surface of the graveyard a short distance to the E of the upstanding section of S wall of medieval church ruins (DG021-008002-).
The attached images (DG021-008020-_01.jpg) of the cross-slab kindly supplied by Bernician Studies Group who carried out a survey of Cooly graveyard in 2014.
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien
Date of revised upload: 22 October 2015
References
O'Brien, C. and Adams, M. 2014 Field Survey at Cooley Graveyard 2014. Unpublished report, Bernician Studies Group: Inishowen Fieldwork 2014. Newcastle upon Tyne.
Lacy, B. with Cody, E., Cotter, C., Cuppage, J., Dunne, N., Hurley, V., O'Rahilly, C., Walsh, P. and Ó Nualláin, S. 1983 Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century A.D. Lifford. Donegal County Council.
Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R.N. 1970 (Reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.
Nearby in the register
- Shrineunder 1 mi
- Cross-slabunder 1 mi
- Bullaun stoneunder 1 mi
- Cross-slabunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.