Remains of a Monumental Pillar

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and 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/revision: 17 July 2007 Set in a large flat base almost square in plan and sited on a slight ridge, it is now broken into several fragments. Part of the shaft, which is rectangular in section (0.45m by 0.28m), is still bedded in the base but the other portions lay broken on the ground before being removed for repair by the OPW. Its total height would have been c. 3.1m. The apex of the shaft is broken in two but it can be seen that it tapers towards the top. It bears a rough Crucifixion scene on one face and a robed figure on the other. The head of the cross or pillar takes the form of two truncated pyramids set base to base. The top of the shaft is tenoned to fit a mortise in the head which is decorated with floral patterns and angles. The sides have figures of St Peter and St Patrick under ogee-headed canopies. An inscription in relief covers all four faces of the shaft. The cross is one of a pair of crosses set up by Jennet Dowdall in memory of her second husband, Oliver Plunket, who died in 1607; the other is to be seen at Baronstown, Co. Meath (King 1984, 105 and 112). (CLAJ 1943, 210-15; King 1984, fig. 4, D, 112)