What is recorded here

Four centuries of baptismal water have washed through the octagonal limestone basin, making the 1579 initials of S.W. and C.E.B. fade into permanent mystery. The font remains active in Dunboyne, turning ordinary church visits into strange conversations with forgotten makers. Its shallow depth and solid shaft suggest hurried craftsmanship, yet it has survived every later church built around it.

The late 16th century limestone font from the parish church of Dunboyne (ME050-021001-), which was first described by Butler c. 1749 (1892, 15-16), is still functioning in the present Church of Ireland church (Roe 1968, 46-8). It is octagonal (ext. dim. 0.68m; H 0.51m) with a flat-bottomed basin (int. diam. 0.48m; D 0.22m) and chamfered under-panels. The shaft (H 0.34m) is octagonal on top with plain stops on four of its sides merging into a rectangle at the bottom (dims 0.4m x 0.4m), which rests on a modern base (total H 1.05m). The inscription in initials is in false relief and runs across four of the upper panels. It reads: S.W. / C.E.B. / I. (or J) W. / 1579. A second font (ME050-021006-) is kept in the porch. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 13, April, 2015

The limestone font in Dunboyne was built in the late 16th century and is associated with the former parish church of the area; it is now in use in the present Church of Ireland church and represents a significant survival of early post-Reformation ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland.

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