This exquisitely carved cross slab is, like many others, suffering the ravages of the modern climate. Lichen and erosion are a serious threat here.
The slab was moved to its current position from a nearby dried up holy well. There is a cross on each face enclosed in a circle. The side that faces away from the road has a small figure with long hair and holding a crosier standing on the top of the circle. This figure is disappearing fast. On a photo taken by Anthony Weir s just 25 years ago the figure was very clear - probably as clear as it was when carved around one thousand years ago. In just the last 20 or so years the weather and modern, acid ridden climate have taken their toll. Such is the fate of many of Ireland���s great carved monuments.
One of the guidebooks I had with me stated that this grave slab was near to the monastic site. Absolute tosh! On this trip I seriously doubted the author���s claim to have been to all the sites in the book. Many of the write-ups seemed remarkably close to the now out of date comments in other books. If it wasn���t for Anthony Weir���s book Early Ireland: A Field Guide I wouldn���t have found this stone. Even with these directions I found it a tricky task as so much has changed since it was written 25 years ago. The directions I have given are a modified version of these.
This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |