What is recorded here

Half a meter of stone cross is missing at Kilmalkedar, swallowed by the earth beside the church path. What remains stands two and a half meters tall, its western face carrying a raised panel within another raised panel, while the eastern face is smooth and empty. The hill shadows the valley at dusk, and the sea enters Smerwick Harbour below. A cross half buried is not a failed monument; it is a living one, still giving itself to the ground that holds the graveyard.

National Monument No. 65. The Early Christian and Medieval ecclesiastical complex at Kilmalkedar (KE042-026----) lies at the foot of the W slopes of Reenconnell hill, overlooking Smerwick Harbour. The Reenconnell ridge peaks at 907 feet/276m to NE of the site and the area around Kilmalkedar is sheltered on its N and S sides by spurs of this hill. (6) Stone cross (KE042-026006-) Plate 31: Located on the S side of the pathway leading through the graveyard to the church. It stands 2.5m high at present but while excavating a nearby grave it was noted that at least 6 feet (1.8m) of the shaft was buried beneath the present ground surface (local information). The ENE face is undecorated, but on the WNW face the shaft continues through the crossing as a raised panel within which is a 2nd rectangular raised panel. See attached photograph courtesy of Amanda Clarke The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 855. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 8 August 2013

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