What is recorded here

Eight sides, one round mouth, and a base old enough to belong to James, 4th Earl of Ormonde, whose arms still stand in relief. The font moved from St Mary’s abbey to the Church of Ireland in Navan, carrying baptismal water through centuries of change. Its cross bearer was marked IN HOC SIGNO VINCES 1716, a crude but proud declaration that the place still believed in victory through surrender.

The limestone font described by Dopping (1693) as being in St Mary’s abbey (ME025-024----) (Reynell 1888-91, 463) is now in St Mary’s Church of Ireland church in Navan. The font is octagonal (dims 0.6m x 0.6m; H 0.37m) with a circular basin (int. diam. 0.5m; D 0.18m) and shallow chamfered under-panels. The octagonal stem appears to be modern but the octagonal base (dims 0.6m x 0.6m; H 0.25m) is original (total H 1.13m). The font has two shields in relief, one with a cross that has the inscription IN HOC SIGNO VINCES 1716 crudely incised in a secondary fashion. The other has the Butler arms, and Roe (1968, 89-91) associates it with James, the 4th Earl of Ormonde, who joined a confraternity at St Mary’s in 1436. The cross (ME025-044010-) is in the graveyard. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 19 December, 2014

The octagonal limestone font, originally from St Mary’s Abbey and now located in St Mary’s Church of Ireland in Navan, dates to the late medieval period and is associated with the monastic foundation of the abbey, likely built in the 13th or 14th century. It is significant as a surviving ecclesiastical artifact linked to the former Cistercian abbey.

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