Cross-slab in Achonry

Found inside the boundary wall of Achonry cathedral (SL032-188002-). Described by Herity, Kelly and Mattenberger (1997, 118) as a subtriangular slab with a pointed butt, on one broad face of which is carved a cross-in-circle in false relief (H 51.5cm); the slab was then in private possession locally but its current location is not known. A photograph of the slab taken in the 1980s shows a small plain Greek cross beneath the cross-in circle and an inscription, possibly 'Comte or Conire', along the outer edge of one quadrant of the upper half of the cross-in-circle. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008

Date likely to the early medieval period, possibly 8th to 10th century. The cross-in-circle motif may have had Christian symbolic significance, possibly associated with ecclesiastical activity linked to the nearby cathedral site.