Tomb - chest tomb

The National Monuments Service's description

The side panel of an altar tomb or chest tomb decorated with blind ogee-headed panel and lierne vaulting of possible 16th century date that was probably located inside Abbey Owney (LI014-014002-) but is now incorporated within a modern stone shelter covering the mass rock (LI007-014----) at Cappercullen. Similar lierne vaulting pattern can be seen on MacGillaptrick effigial tomb (KK008-047007-) at Grangefertagh Church (KK008-047001-), Co. Kilkenny dating from 1510-40 (Hunt 1974, 167). The carved image of St. Bernard incorporated into this shelter came from the Walsh wall monument (LI014-014017-) in their mausoleum at Owney Abbey (LI014-014002-) while the crucifixion scene may have come from the 17th century Barry wall tomb (Seymour 1907, 363). Loeber suggested that the cut limestone often referred to as marble for the memorials in Abington graveyard came from quarries in the barony of Clanwilliam (Loeber 1981, 278). The marble quarry (LI023-339----) of Caherline and Ballyhobin mentioned in the Civil Survey of 1654-56 may have supplied the stone for these memorials (Simington 1938, 74).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien and Matt Kelleher based on details kindly provided by Derek Ryan.

Date of upload: 3 July 2017

References

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1938 The civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. IV: county of Limerick, with a section of Clanmaurice barony Co. Kerry. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

Loeber, R. 1981 Sculptured memorials to the dead in the early seventeenth century Ireland: a survey from Monumenta Eblanae and other sources. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 81C 11, 267-93.

Hunt, J. 1974 Irish medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish University Press.

Seymour, Rev. St. J. 1907 Abbey Owney, County Limerick. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 37, 165-80, 360-73.