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Cross-slab in Inishcaltra OR Holy Island

Cross-slab

What is recorded here

Inishcaltra is a small island off the Clare coast where a recumbent cross-slab still lies beside an old church, its broken corners and faint cross marking a grave from the twelfth century. The name Ordome appears above the cross, preserving one lost identity in a place where religion, memory and seamanship still tangle together.
A recumbent cross-slab, part of a composite grave situated in the E half of the ‘Saint’s graveyard’ (CL029-009030-) on Inis Cealtra (this slab is 3.75m from the N wall and 3.3m from the E wall of Teampul na bhfear ngonta (CL029-009015-). Noted by Macalister (1916-17, 156, no. 59) as of ‘twelfth-century type’. Described by Okasha and Forsyth (2001, 76-8) as a large cross-slab (H 1.39m; Wth 0.56m; T 0.9m), with a substantial piece broken off at the top right corner and a small piece broken off the bottom left corner. The face is dressed and incised with an outline Latin cross with hollowed angles and a square base, closed at the bottom. An incomplete inscription in one horizontal line above the top of the cross reads ‘ORDOMAE…’. Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 27 October 2015
A cross-slab from the early medieval period, likely 8th to 10th century, associated with a Christian burial or memorial site; such stones often marked the graves of important figures or saints, reflecting the spiritual and ecclesiastical significance of Inis Cealtra as a monastic centre.

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

What survives
Recorded monument

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