Cross-slab in Town Parks (kells Upper By.)

There is a granite cross-slab (Wth 0.56m; H 1.69m; T 0.16m) on the S side of the tower of the parish church. It is sub-rectangular and partly damaged, and has an interlaced latin cross in false relief within a border. Above the cross is an Alpha and Omega, an IHS, and a Chi Rho, and along the left side of the slab are the words OR DO RIAG (Bradley and King 1985, 1, 80). Macalister (1934, 20-1) has read the inscription as: OR DO MAEL DO BORGA[N]. It is now in the church. (Roe 1959, 59; O’Connell 1960, 22) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 19 January, 2015

This cross-slab likely dates to the early medieval period, possibly between the 9th and 12th centuries. The interlaced Latin cross suggests a Christian religious function, potentially marking a burial site or serving as a waymark for pilgrims.