What is recorded here

A weathered slab bearing a fading Maltese cross now stands in the grounds of St. Joseph's Church in Rathmullen, having left its original pasture setting beside a vanished underground passage. The stone survived human curiosity and local change, moving from an open field to a churchyard where it can still be seen. Its cross is worn, but the shape remains clear enough to mark the boundary between memory and forgetting.

Marked as a standing stone on the 2nd and 3rd editions of the OS 6-inch maps, this slab (DG028-012001-) has now been removed to the grounds of St. Joseph's Church in Rathmullen (DG037-023). It consists of a regularly shaped slab 1.6m x .36m. On one face a Maltese cross inside a circle has been incised, but only faint traces of the upper portions can be seen. It was originally located at the position outlined above, allegedly beside the entrance to a Man-made underground passage (DG028-012002-) (NMI) but no trace of this is visible now. The site is in gently rising pasture. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

This cross-inscribed pillar, likely dating to the early Christian period (5th–9th centuries), may have served as a memorial or waymarker, with the cross symbolizing Christian devotion. Its relocation to St. Joseph's Church suggests local recognition of its historical or religious significance.

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