Cross-inscribed stone in Cloghinch (glenkeen Par.)

A cross-inscribed stone found adjacent to a bullaun stone (TN027-166001). Formerly located in Moanaha Glen, immediately S of Nenagh River. The cross-inscribed stone is described as a cross-slab, irregular in shape but roughly triangular in cross-section. On one face, there is a roughly equal-armed Greek cross enclosed in a double circle. The ends of the cross are expanded as T-shaped terminals. Outside the double circle the remains of an inscription are pecked on the surface of the stone. They read 'NLAD'. Before the 'N' there are faint indications of another letter but it is not possible to state with certainty what it may have been, though it may have been an 'A''. The stone is now in the care of the National Museum of Ireland. (Raftery 1967, 219-21) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

This cross-inscribed stone likely dates to the Early Christian period (5th–10th century AD) and may have functioned as a Christian memorial or waymarker. Its association with a bullaun stone suggests a ritual or sacred landscape linked to both prehistoric and early monastic traditions.