What is recorded here

Half a metre of grey stone lies flat at Clonmacnoise, bearing only the name Ronan along its top edge. The cross is gone, perhaps chipped away by weather or perhaps never carved at all, leaving a bare slab that points to nothing but the man it marked. Ronan may have been a farmer, a monk or a stranger passing through when the abbey still drew people from across Ireland. His name survived the loss of every other detail, preserved in shallow letters that rain has softened but never erased.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00477 Dimensions: H 0.495, W 0.62, T 0.08 A single line inscription runs along the top of the slab. No cross survives. Inscription: 'RONAN' Evidence of discovery: Davis 1984. Condition: Complete but worn and flaked.. The Clonmacnoise inventory was compiled by the Office of Public Works. A copy of the record for this slab is available for inspection in the relevant Archaeological Survey of Ireland (SMR) file. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

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