What is recorded here

Ballylarkin Upper held the most refined Sheela-na-gig ever carved, squatting on the medieval church wall with arms akimbo and one finger touching her pudenda. Her tiny breasts dwarfed by a decisive ribcase, she watched the faithful with ovoid eyes and a slit mouth, unashamed and exact. Now she sits in Dublin, but she was born for that wall, where her boldness was not decoration but instruction: the body is not a mistake, and clarity is not cruelty.

Sheela-na-gig currently located in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin (Cherry 1992, 6). Originally located on the walls of Ballylarkin medieval church (KK013-018001-). Described by Freitag as a figure, ’carved in relief on slab and probably most refined of all Sheela-na-gigs, depicted in a squatting position. Oval head with big ears, ovoid eyes, small long nose and slit-mouth; thick neck. Tiny, pendulous breasts dwarfed by decisively carved ribcase. Arms akimbo with right hand placed on bent knee while middle finger of left hand delicately touches pudenda’ (Freitag 2004, 123-4). Cross-referenced with DU018-177----. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 6 June 2012

Dated to the medieval period, the Sheela-na-gig is thought to have had a symbolic or ritual function, often associated with fertility or warding off evil. Such figures appear in various parts of Ireland and Britain, though their exact meaning remains unclear.

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