Cross-slab

The National Monuments Service's description

A Hiberno-Romanesque church (TN018-001001) situated on a raised enclosure 1.2m above a partially enclosed island (TN018-001004) known as 'Inis na mBeo' or 'Island of the Living' in Monaincha Bog. Possibly founded by the Augustinian canons around 1140 on the site of an earlier monastery (TN017-019002, TN018-001005) linked to St Canice of Aghaboe in the sixth century (Leask 1955, 129; Gleeson and Gwynn 1962, 53) and St Cronán in the seventh century (Gleeson and Gwynn 1962, 54). According to Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 41) the church on this island was associated with St Hilaire/Hilary in or before the tenth century. The Augustinian regular canons arrived some time after 1140 and rebuilt the church of St Hilary, alias St Mary (ibid.).

According to Harbison this poorly preserved cross-slab was situated on the floor of the church (TN018-001001) at Monaincha (Harbison 1991, 132), today there are no visible signs of this cross-slab in the floor of the church. Described by Crawford in 1911 as 'The peculiarity of this carving is that the cross, if such it may be called, has no arms. It has a circular expanded centre, and as the ends are broken, the shape of the terminals is unknown, and the top and bottom cannot be distinguished with certainty. In the centre there is a simple pattern of one band, having four loops pointing to the centre, and leaving a space shaped as a cross of that early form which is bounded entirely by arcs of circles. Surrounding this are four circular bands, alternately wide and narrow, and very accurately described, the whole forming a centre-piece 13.5 inches in diameter. Another curious point is that the inner bands are continued into the stem in one direction only, while the outer are prolonged both ways, thus making the shaft or stem of double width at one end. A line is incised along each edge of the stone, the greatest dimensions of which, parallel to and at right angles to the axis are 3 feet 7 inches and 1 foot 11 inches' (JRSAI 1911, vol. 1, part 1, 68-9).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien.

Date of upload: 22 September 2008