What is recorded here

Inishcaltra is an island where a recumbent cross-slab lies in the Saint’s Graveyard, its Latin cross carved in double lines and its angles marked with hollowed squares that hint at a Celtic wheel. The slab belongs to the twelfth century, yet it still touches the edge of a living place where stone, memory and prayer seem to hold one another. It is not a lost object or a dead relic; it is a marker that the island continues to distinguish between what is forgotten and what is still being carried.

A recumbent cross-slab situated in the W half of the ‘Saint’s Graveyard’ (CL029-009030-) on Inis Cealtra 22m from the S wall and 4.1m from the W wall and immediately W of ‘Teampul na bhFear nGonta’ (CL029-009015-). Noted by Macalister (1916-17, 159, no. 70) as ‘of twelfth-century date’ and described as an elaborately carved slab in which the Latin cross is ornamentally treated. It measures 6ft by 1ft 9in with a cross in double lines, open at the base. The angles are cut with hollowed double squares and the head is brought to a point. The ornamentation in the cantons suggests the wheel of a ‘celtic’ cross. (de Paor drawing, SMR file) Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 28 October 2015

Probably dating to the early medieval period (5th–11th century), this cross-slab may have had a Christian liturgical or commemorative function, possibly associated with monastic or ecclesiastical activity on the island. Inishcaltra, known as "Holy Island," has long been linked to early Irish saints and pilgrimage traditions.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.