What is recorded here

Killaspuglonane holds a carved limestone face that likely watched over a medieval church before becoming a holy well vessel. The oval head, marked with eyes, ears and a hairline on a trapezoidal block, still stands beside Tobarlonane through a replica after the original left for Dublin. It may have been pulled from church rubble and set at the water because people believed the face could receive prayer. That move from building to well suggests the community saw the head as alive, not dead stone.

This record is for the original location of a carved stone head found in 1971 beside Tobarlonane holy well (CL015-059005-) adjacent to a large ecclesiastical enclosure (CL015-059001-). The head was carved in relief on one side of a trapezoidal limestone block. The face is oval with eyes, ears, eyebrows, mouth, nose, and hairline depicted. Swan (1987, 165) has drawn comparisons with Irish Romanesque stone heads, suggesting a 12th century date. He argues that the stone originated as an architectural element, probably a voussoir. Its location at the holy well was secondary and it was probably taken there from the rubble of the adjacent medieval church (CL015-059002-) as an object of veneration. The present location is in the National Museum of Ireland (DU018-160----) and a replica has been placed at the well. Reference: Swan, L 1987 A carved stone head from Killaspuglonane, Co. Clare. In Rynne, E. (ed.) Figures from the past: studies on figurative art in Christian Ireland, 159-67. Glendale Press. Dublin. Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell Date of upload: 11 July 2023

Probably dating to the early Christian period (5th–10th century), the stone head may have had a religious or commemorative function, possibly linked to the nearby holy well and ecclesiastical site. Such carvings are sometimes associated with local saints or early monastic traditions.

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