Cross — Rathgarve

A loose pile of stones marks the site of a 17th century wayside cross now lying on the ground located on W side of a possible medieval road, 80m S of Rathgarve Church (WM003-068----) and graveyard (WM003-068001-) with motte and bailey (WM003-070----) 40m to the W and a castle (WM003-066----) 350m to the S. Unable to locate the base and shaft of the cross which may be located amongst the stones now incorporated into field boundary of the old roadway. The cross stood on a rise of ground with good views in all directions. Cross recorded in 1874 by the Ordnance Survey as 'a portion of a cross. The upper portion is nearly perfect and there is an inscription on it but much defaced. I would read ….. The socket stands on a raised mound, the head is seperated from it' (OS Field Name Book 1874, 10). The cross was shown standing in a triangular-shaped base when it was sketched by George Du Noyer in 1864 (George Victor Du Noyer, “Calvary cross from the road side near the old church of Rathgarve Co. W Meath. Sheet 3/4.,” Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, accessed January 24, 2020, http://rsai.locloudhosting.net/items/show/23479). Described in 1928 as 'The fragments of a cross with solid recessed ring 1ft. 5in. (0.4m) in diameter. The head is 2ft. 3in. (0.67m) across the arms, and has in the centre a narrow panel containing several initial letters and date 1604. The head is placed on the base to which it belongs, and part of the shaft 2ft. 6in. (0.75m) long lies beside it. It is situated in the field W of the lane and S of the church (WM003-068----)'(Crawford 1928, 58, no. 6). Described in 1980 as 'The head of a solid ringed cross (H 0.58m; Wth 0.7m; T 0.14m). This is set in a small mound of grass covered stones in the W side of a N-S field fence on W side of laneway S of Rathgarve Church (WM003-068----) and NW of a motte and bailey (WM003-070----). There is now a barbed wire fence running along the field bank and the wire has been trained across the face of the cross so that I am unable to move it to examine both faces, with assistance it should be possible to move the cross without damaging it or the fence. The edges of the arms and ring are bevelled and there are 4 shallow depressions or cusps on the face of the ring near the edge. The arms have suffered damage in the past with sections of the surface having flaked off so that the ring appears to be raised at the junctions with these arms, but this is purely due to the damage as the surface is level at the junction with the other arm. It is not possible to see what if anything remains of the shaft without moving the cross. The hidden face appears to have the cusps and possibly also a figure carving or an inscription' (SMR file). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 23 June 2010