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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Sheela-na-gig

Rattoo, County Kerry, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Sheela-na-gig, Rattoo, County Kerry, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Rattoo
County
Kerry
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Not indicated
Latest-edition OS map
Not indicated
Coordinates
52.44267, -9.65017
SMR number
KE009-056002-

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1753 map "Mappa geographica Regni Hiberniae" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1753 · Mappa geographica Regni Hiberniae (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Figure located high up on inner face of left hand corner of N facing window of Rattoo round tower (KE009-056001-). Plaster cast of figure in National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. Described by Freitag as a ‘flat figure with big head, pronounced forehead and strangely formed, almost rectangular ears; depression indicating eyes and mouth, but no nose, pointed chin; thin neck. Angular shoulders; no breasts. Arms flexed with left hand on thigh; hands not visible in plaster cast, but extension of arm pointing in direction of pudenda; right arm held at right angle; if original delineates hand it would be on abdomen. Thighs and calves of figure well rounded; both feet pointing outwards’ (Freitag 2004, 139).

See attached drawing of sheela-na-gig taken from Toal 1995, Fig. 130.

Compiled by Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 06 June 2012

References

Toal, C. 1995 North Kerry Archaeological Survey. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority.

Freitag, B. 2004 Sheela-na-gigs: unravelling an enigma. London. Routledge.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Sheela-na-gig in Kerry All County Kerry records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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