Cross-slab in Inis Gé Thuaidh

On the NE side of the summit of Bailey Mór mound (MA023-014003-), 8m S of a house (MA023-014007-), on a gentle E facing slope, just above the point where the mound slope falls away steeply. Henry (1951, 67; Pl. XI, no. 2; Slab 8) recorded a cross-slab at roughly this location. She describes it thus: ‘a little to the S of House B [MA023-014005-]. It had been, until my last visit, practically buried in the sand. The erosion having been very strong on this slope, it now stands about 2 ft. [c. 0.61m] above the ground and the whole design is visible. It bear, on its W side, a simple Latin cross standing over a circle. The other side is plain.’ At this location is a cross-slab, which matches Henry’s description in terms of position, orientation and shape. It differs, however, in having an incised cross on both the E and W faces. Roughly rectangular stone slab (Wth 0.3m N−S; T 0.07m) set upright in the ground, with a simple, single-line Latin cross incised on each broad face. On the E face of the slab (H 0.52m above ground surface) the cross is centrally positioned on the exposed surface, with neither the horizontal or vertical arms reaching the edges of the stone. The total height of the cross is 0.21m, with the vertical element rises 5cm above the horizontal arms, and extends 16cm below. The width of the horizontal arms is 14cm. The W face of the cross-slab backs onto rising ground, reducing the height above ground of the exposed surface to 0.34m. It bears a single-line incised cross, now greatly weathered. The horizontal arms extend the full width of the slab. The vertical element appears to extend to the top of the slab and its lower end disappears into the sod. The base of the cross is now concealed below ground, and it is not possible to confirm that the shaft ends in a small circle as described by Henry (1951, 67). The cross-slab is a National Monument in state ownership (no. 379). Attached images: MA023-014020-_01.JPG Cross-slab with house (MA023-014007-) in background, viewed from S MA023-014020-_02.JPG E face MA023-014020-_03.JPG W face MA023-014020-_04.JPG Image of the W face published by Henry (1951, 67; Pl. XI, no. 2; Slab 8) Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 19 July 2023 References: Henry, F. 1951 New monuments from Inishkea North, Co. Mayo. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquities of Ireland 81, 65-69

Probably dating to the early Christian period, the cross-slab may have had a religious or commemorative function, possibly associated with the nearby Bailey Mór mound. Such stones often marked territorial boundaries or served as waymarkers along ancient routes.