Cross-inscribed stone in Dunleer

A roughly rectangular stone (1m by 0.52m), broken at the base and decorated with an inscribed Latin cross which is ringed and formed with parallel incised lines. The slab is framed, on all but the broken side, with a double incised line. In each quadrant of the ring is a monogram and there is an inscription running lengthwise to one side of the cross which reads OR DO MAELPH. (Macalister 1949, II, 30; PRIA 61C, 127). One of three cross-inscribed stones situated in the porch of the nineteenth-century Protestant church (see also LH018-064005- and LH018-064011-). The above description is derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 11 July 2012

Likely dating to the early medieval period (5th–10th century), the cross-inscribed stone in Dunleer may have functioned as a Christian memorial or waymarker. The ringed cross and parallel incised lines suggest a liturgical or symbolic association, possibly linked to early Irish monastic tradition.