What is recorded here

Hammer blows chipped the legs and vulva of the Cloonlara Sheela, yet her bony face and pointing hands still mark the canal bridge. The stone may have worn Newtown Castle before a proud owner struck her at Cloonlara. She was not destroyed but relocated, set into the parapet where passing water and people keep her company.

This stone is set into the parapet of a bridge across the Limerick to Killaloe Navigation Canal at Cloonlara. The figure is said to have come from Newtown Castle (CL053-043001-) and to have been defaced by the land-owner about three generations ago (local information) (Guest 1936, 117-18). It is described by Freitag (2004, 129) as a figure ‘carved on a rectangular slab; the figure was given a patent reveal surrounding it when it was inserted in the new parapet. There are signs of deliberate hammering below the waist. Thus the legs and genital area are only barely traceable. It has a bony head with a grim face; the arms flexed and both hands are indicating or touching the vulva. The legs are splayed’. (Andersen 1977, 147, No. 71) Compiled by: Caimin O'Brein/Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 June, 2012

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.