What is recorded here

Inis Oírr, County Galway, held a complete upright cross-slab in 1938, but by 1987 it lay broken into three pieces on the graveyard ground. The ringed Latin cross still shows its head and arms inside the circle while the shaft extends below into a splaying base. Whatever knocked it over, the stone resisted forgetting; it only changed posture.

When recorded by Mason (1938, 198) this cross-slab was complete and was standing upright in the graveyard (GA120-028002-). It was in this condition in the early 1970s (information Dr J. Waddell) but when surveyed by Higgins (1987, vol. II, 360, no. 82) it was lying on the ground and was broken in three pieces (L 1.65m; Wth 0.35m; T 0.04-0.05m). It is decorated with a ringed two-line Latin cross. The head and arms are contained within the circle but the shaft extends below it and ends in a single-line open-ended splaying base with a crosslet projecting from the top of each of its sides. The breaks in the slab occur just below the circle and below the base (Higgins ibid., Fig. 78, Pl. 26B). Compiled by: Olive Alcock Date of upload: 15 February 2016

This cross-slab likely dates to the early medieval period, associated with Christian worship or burial practices. It may have served as a memorial or waymark within the graveyard, reflecting the spiritual traditions of the local community.

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