What is recorded here

Half-buried on an east-facing slope above the Kells to Oldcastle road, a broken cross still stands in three pieces, its name worn to ghosts. Margaret Plunkett may have slept beneath it before men dragged the stone across the dirt, but the hill has kept its own counsel ever since.

Situated on an E-facing slope overlooking a col between Patrickstown Hill to the W and a lower hill c. 300m to the E, and c. 20m S of the road from Kells to Oldcastle. The rectangular base of a cross is within a rectangular surround. The stem of a cross with a rectangular cross-section (dims 0.3m x 0.21m; total H 1.13m) is in three portions. The inscription is illegible now but the letters TM….SSON….WROHT might be made out. It is thought to commemorate a Margaret Plunkett and to have been moved from Ballinvally burial ground (ME009-061----) by the antiquary E. Crofton Rotheram (O’Reilly 1958, 51), but since the stone is described in italic lettering as a ‘Stone’ on the E side of the road on the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map, it is more likely that it was just moved across the road. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 1 November 2018

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