What is recorded here

Half a metre tall and no thicker than a knife blade, the cross slab leans in Clonmacnoise with wedge terminals still sharp enough to cut shadow. OR DO MAEL BRENDAIN runs in four lines beneath the cross, the letters worn but never erased. Whoever chiselled it did not decorate a church wall; they marked a body, named the dead and left the judgment to God.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00021 Dimensions: H 0.45, W 0.63, T 0.05 Initial cross with wedge shaped terminals dominated by the inscription. Inscription: 'OR DO MAEL BRENDAIN' - a four line inscription. Evidence of discovery: Macalister 1898-1905 Condition: Worn and flaked. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-119, 638. 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

Date likely to the 9th to 11th century AD, based on the style of the cross and inscribed memorial formula. The inscription indicates it is a Christian memorial, commemorating someone named Mael Brendain.

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