Inscribed stone

The National Monuments Service's description

Located in a pasture field, bordered to N by a road. There a church (MA022-043001-) and graveyard (MA022-043002-) c. 30m to N on the opposite side of the road.
A roughly rectangular sandstone slab (L 1.02m; T 0.12m) with rounded corners. The slab is broader (Wth 0.45m) at one end than the other (Wth 0.32). A shallow oval depression (c. 0.44m; 0. 36m) occupies the full width of the broadest half of the stone, so that three sides of the depression are defined by the outer edges of the stone; the fourth side of the depression appears to be defined on its outer edge by a shallow incised groove which cuts across the width of the stone. At the opposite, narrower end of the stone an L-shaped incision is deeply cut into the stone surface. The incision (Wth 0.015-0.02m; D 0.02m) begins at the very edge of the stone, more or less on the midline, extends 0.1m along the long axis and then turning at right angles for 0.07m; it is now marked by a growth of moss.
The 1838 OS Letters record a T-shaped incised symbol beside the L-shaped incision, describing it as being smaller, shallower and more finely carved than the other symbol (O’Flanagan, 1927, 140-3 (74-6)); this is no longer visible.
According to tradition, the oval indentation marks the location where St. Patrick sat, and the L-shaped incision is said to be the impression of St. Patrick’s pipe (ibid. 140 (74)).
The slab lies horizontally on the ground surface, partly embedded in the sod. It long axis is currently aligned roughly NW-SE, with the broader end of the stone at SE. Immediately adjacent at E there is a cross-inscribed stone (MA022-044001-). A remnant of a field fence lies immediately to E of the two stones. There is a ringbarrow (MA022-045----) in the same field 70mm to E.

Attached images:
MA022-044002-_01.JPG Incised stone located adjacent to a cross-inscribed stone (MA022-044001-).
MA022-044002-_02.JPG Inscribed stone, with broad shallow depression at one end of stone (at left) and L-shaped incision at opposite end (marked by yellow arrow, at right).

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 1 May 2019

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1927 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Mayo collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838. Bray.