What is recorded here

Athassel Abbey, County Tipperary: a chest tomb with a trefoil arch, built from Dundry stone, now broken into fragments in the Kilkenny depot. One piece holds a cusped opening no larger than a palm, its surface chipped and edges worn. The tomb may have marked a person important enough to import stone from far away, then lost that identity when the abbey fell and the stones scattered. What remains is a shape, not a name: a curve cut for breath or prayer, waiting in a warehouse for someone to remember it.

In the OPW store, Kilkenny (Kilkenny depot stone carving number: KD019). Fragment of a cusped multi-foil opening with a square moulded surround (dims. 0.13m x 0.12m), which appears to be made from Dundry stone. The decorated surface has suffered some spalling. Identified by Manning (2005, 133) as part of a trefoil arch from a chest tomb originally located at Athassel Abbey (TS068-013----), Co. Tipperary. Four other fragments of this chest tomb are also stored in the Kilkenny Depot (see KK019-026393- to KK019-026396-). See attached: KK019-026383-_01 (photograph by Chris Corlett) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 25 January 2023

Chest tomb fragment, likely medieval in date. Its significance lies in the carved cusped multi-foil opening, indicative of ecclesiastical or high-status burial practices.

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