Cooly Cat's Eyes Cross Slab

The early ecclesiastical site here consists of a sub-rectangular shaped graveyard inside of which are a number of earlier features. The site is located on excellent land sloping to Lough Foyle to the E and is traditionally claimed to have been founded by St. Patrick (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 399; Lacy et. al. 1983, 261). To the W outside the entrance to the graveyard (DG021-008001-) is a tall, plain, ringed high-cross (DG021-008005-). Inside the graveyard are the remains of two churches (DG021-008002-/003-) and a mortuary house or tomb shrine (DG021-008004-). One of the churches served as a medieval parish church (Leslie 1937, 265). A broken upright slab with lower half of a ringed cross carved in relief located in W quadrant of Cooly graveyard (DG021-008001-) to W of church (DG021-008002-) was recently discovered during graveyard clean-up scheme carried out in 2010. A graveyard plan drawn by the Cooley Cross Heritage Committee shows a 'wheel-head cross-inscribed slab' located W of the S church where it is marked with the number 2 and known locally as the 'Cat’s Eyes'. The attached image (DG021-008017-_03.jpg) is a plan of the church and graveyard commissioned by the Cooley Cross Heritage Committee showing location of cross-slab No. 2. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 25 February 2015

Cooly Cat's Eyes Cross Slab is likely from the Early Christian period, associated with the nearby ecclesiastical site. It may have served as a grave marker or commemorative monument, reflecting Christian symbolism in a landscape with earlier prehistoric activity.