What is recorded here

Todd rubbed the stone in 1848, pulling dark ink from a surface that never fully settled into a flat shape. The craftsman forced the words OR DO MAIL MAIRE onto uneven rock, squeezing the prayer into whatever space remained beside the expansive cross. That reluctant fit suggests hurry or desperation, as if the dead needed naming before the stone could be closed. The central expansion still flakes, releasing small chips into the Offaly air like the slab is slowly giving back what it took.

Clonmacnoise grave-slab inventory (1992) number: CLN00324 Dimensions: H 0.785, W 0.54, T 0.04 Outline expansional cross with median line, semicircular termianls with fret pattern and central circular expansion with a trieskilon. The slab does not have a flat regular surface but a flat part has been used for the cross. Inscription: The vertical inscription 'OR DO MAIL MAIRE' is squeezed on in an irregular manner. Evidence of discovery: Rubbing by Todd in 1848. Condition: Complete, flaking on central expansion of cross. National Monuments Service, Photo number: 81-244, 906, 911 Stokes, M. (1878) Christian Inscriptions in the Irish language, Vol 1, p LXIII, no. 152 Lionard, Early Irish Grave-slabs, PRIA 60(1959-60), p 134, Fig 25, no. 9. The Clonmacnoise inventory was compiled by the Office of Public Works. A copy of the record for this slab is available for inspection in the relevant Archaeological Survey of Ireland (SMR) file. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

Date likely to the 9th to 11th century AD, based on the style of the High Cross tradition. The cross-slab may have had a liturgical or commemorative function, possibly marking a grave or significant site within a monastic settlement.

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