Cross-inscribed stone

The National Monuments Service's description

The early church that became an Augustinian abbey (RO037-001001-) is situated on low-lying ground at the S end of graveyard (RO037-001002-).
At least eighteen stones with inscribed crosses have been recorded up to 2008, but some of these are missing. Five have been recorded by Fanning and O'hEailidhe (1980, 10, 13-15), one of which is now missing. Two others were recorded by Siggins (1988, 56-7) and six other simpler cross-inscribed stones were described by Herity (et al. 1997, 116-7). Other stones have since come to light, and most of the displayed stones are set in the walls of a rectangular enclosure with an altar at the W edge of the graveyard. In all six cross-slabs and eleven other cross-inscribed stones have been recorded in this display. There are also numerous architectural fragments (RO037-001017-) from a high medieval church on display here and in the church ruin as well as decorative pieces from an earlier structure. Most of the decorated stones were recovered from the graveyard in a clean-up c. 1990, at which time others were displayed around a style in the graveyard wall at N. These have been identified recently by Gary Dempsey, and amongst the dressed stones he has recorded are portions of four cross-slabs and five cross-inscribed stones.

This stone (Herity et al. 1997, 117, 027, Cloontuskert 08) is described as built into the upper surface of the stile into the altar enclosure. It was not recognised in this position but it could be a blue-coloured stone (L c. 0.25m) that might have a circular expanded terminal built into the wall of the altar enclosure at the W edge of the graveyard (RO037-001002-).

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revised upload: 9 July, 2015

References

Siggins, A. 1988 Some early Christian slabs from Fuerty and Clontuskert. Journal of the County Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society 2, 55-9.

Herity, M., Kelly, D. and Mattenberger, U. 1997 List of Early Christian cross-slabs in seven north-western counties. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 127, 89-124.

Fanning, T. and Ó hÉailidhe, P. 1980 Some cross-inscribed slabs from the Irish Midlands. In H. Murtagh (ed.), Irish Midland studies: essays in commemoration of N.W. English, 5-23. Athlone. Old Athlone Society.