Memorial stone (present location) in Brickendown,monameagh

Inserted into the N face of the E gate pier at the entrance to a farmhouse and yard. The plaque (H 0.53m; Wth 0.51m; D at least 0.23m) is inserted towards the base of the pier. The upper sinister side of the plaque is missing and both the dexter and sinister edge are slightly damaged. It bears a latin inscription in false relief in Roman lettering which reads: ORA[TE] …… [D]O[MI]NI IAC[OB] ……[BA]RONIS ……..EVIS UXORIS D[OMI]N[AE] [MA]RGARETAE NY BR.. FILAE COMITIS THOMO….. … ME FIER FECERUNT [I]N HONOREM 1633 CRUCIFIXI. According to local tradition the stone was originally located on the top of Mayfield Hill, also known locally as Anthony's Hill (Morrisey 1994, 204), the stone was recorded there in 1781 by Austin Cooper (FitzGerald 1904, vol. 6, 146-7). It had been erected there by Lady Margaret O'Brien to mark the place where her husband's funeral cortege rested overnight on its journey from Ballycahill to Fethard (ibid.). According to Morrisey (1994, 204) 'the monument consisted of a 2 ft. [0.6m] square stone surmounted by a cross, with the inscription 'raised out', not carved. After some years it collapsed into the nearby quarry. The cross or head was broken off'. The inscription, with the gaps interpreted, has been translated as 'Pray for the souls of Lord James Butler, Baron of Dunboyne, and of his wife, Lady Margaret O'Brien, daughter of the Earl of Thomond, who caused me to be made in honour of the crucified Christ. 1633 (ibid.). There is a free-standing carved stone (TS061-165001-) associated with the plaque which Crotty (2004, 155) speculated may be the remains of the base of the cross itself (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 01 February 2012