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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Cross-slab

Churchland, County Offaly, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Cross-slab, Churchland, County Offaly, 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
Churchland
County
Offaly
Country
Ireland
Latest-edition OS map
Not indicated
Coordinates
53.07074, -7.79278
SMR number
OF039-003014-

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 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1811 · 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

Founded by St. Kieran the elder in the fifth century (ITA Survey 1943). Early Christian cross-slab (dims. 1.68m x 0.66m x 0.1m) described by Crawford as 'a slab of irregular shape , incised with a six-line cross, having the centre a circle, and the ends three-quarter circles. At the sinister sides are the traces of an inscription 'or do cherball'' (Crawford 1913, 265; Carwford 1916, 166). Now housed inside the C of I church, with a replica lying in the graveyard where the original was located.

Described by Macalister as `Among four ancient tombstones lying on this historically important site there is one of sandstone, recumbent west of the church, a Latin seven-line cross with a circular expansion at the centre and fantastically varied expansions at the terminals' (Macalister 1949, 39). The inscription reads O~R~DOCHERBALL which can be expanded to OROIT DO CHERBALL (Macalister 1949, 39).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien.

Date of upload: 23 May 2011

References

Crawford, H.S. 1916 Supplementary list of early cross-slabs and pillars. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 46, 163-7.

Crawford, H.S. 1913 A descriptive list of early cross-slabs and pillars. (cont.) Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 43, 151-69, 261-5, 326-34.

Macalister, R.A.S. 1949 Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

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
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