High Crosses of Ireland

In Ireland, the high cross is the most impressive of all Irish monuments. The origins of this cross can be traced to Roman times, where such free standing monuments were commonly used to commemorate battle victories.

However it was not until the 4th century A.D., with the introduction of the cult of the cross by the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine, that the cross was used to represent Christ's victory. In Ireland, the magnificently carved high cross, whilst thought to have a protective influence, also served as an assembly point for monastic religious ceremonies.

The earliest known high cross is the Carandonagh cross, dating from the mid 7th century, which was part of a hermitage in the north-west of County Donegal. However the most magnificent of all Irish high crosses are the early 10th century Scripture Crosses, which were created at the stone carving workshop situated in the monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise County Offaly. The panels of these crosses - crafted during a period of great spiritual reform and asceticism - contain highly detailed carvings of biblical scenes. this facilitated easy comprehension, for at that time the majority of the people were illiterate. It was for this reason that the Scripture crosses have been called "Sermons in Stone"...

Carandonagh – Co. Donegal  Circa 650 A.D. Named after St. Patrick, this cross is the oldest free standing high cross, and was once part of an isolated hermitage. Ringless and lightly carved from red sandstone it stands 2.5 metres in height.
Moone – Co. Kildare - Circa 850 AD Erected on the site of an early Columban monastery, this is a unique, tall, slender cross of granite. In Moone, Co Kildare stands the second tallest high cross in Ireland. The shape of which is quite unique, and consists of three parts, the upper part and base were discovered in the graveyard of the abbey in 1835 and re-erected as a complete cross, but in 1893 the middle section of the shaft was discovered and the cross was finally reconstructed to its original size, now standing at 17.5 feet the cross has been erected inside the ruins of the medieval church. The theme of the cross is the Help of God, how God came to their assistance in their hour of need, Daniel in the lions pit, the three children in the fiery furnace and the miracle of the loaves and fishes amongst the scenes depicted. The monastery is believed to have been founded by St Palladius in the 5th century and dedicated to St Columcille in the 6th century, and the cross constructed from granite during the 8th Century.
Clonmacnoise – Co. Offaly - Circa 900AD This is called the " Cross of Scriptures" or King Flann's cross. I is carved from one block of hard buff coloured millstone. One of the more beautiful crosses still surviving, it stands 3.9 metres in height and contains panels which illustrate the life of St. Patrick
Duleek – Co. Meath - Circa 800 AD - This is a small sandstone cross of about 1.8 metres in height. It is part of a group known as "transitional crosses". These were monuments that were carved before the scripture crosses and after the purely decorative crosses.  Therefore one face is carved in a network of spirals and interlacings, whilst the other contains scripture panels. This is a small sandstone cross of about 1.8 metres in height. It is part of a group known as "transitional crosses". These were monuments that were carved before the scripture crosses and after the purely decorative crosses.  Therefore one face is carved in a network of spirals and interlacings, whilst the other contains scripture panels.

Irish High Crosses: - Keys to the World of Celtic Christianity

 High crosses, surely the most monumental expression of Celtic Christianity, have defied Atlantic wind and rain successfully to broadcast the Bible's message from their old Irish monastic sites for more than a thousand years. Their heads encircled in a cosmic symbolism and their stone surfaces decorated with carvings illustrate events from Adam and Eve to the Last Judgment, truly sermons in stone to enlighten the unlettered and tell the story of Christ and his Old Testament precedents.

 The great American art-historian Arthur Kingsley Porter concluded his book The Crosses and Culture of Ireland (1931) with these words: "In the tenth century Ireland produced a sculpture which is not only immeasurably in advance of all the rest of Europe, but is among the remarkable manifestations of mediaeval art." Thus he summed up the essence of these remarkable stone crosses, and he was one of the first to make the wider world on both sides of the Atlantic aware of the rich sculptural legacy which Ireland possesses.

 The great high crosses are more than just pieces of sculpture of art-historical interest - they are striking survivals of the force of Irish spirituality and Irish interest in the scriptures from more than a thousand years ago. They are usually called Celtic, largely because they are found in those countries which preserve the Celtic languages - Ireland, Scotland and Wales - though some of the earliest are to be found in northern England.

 What distinguishes the 'Celtic cross' from all ethers in most people's eyes is the presence of a ring or circle around the junction of shaft and arms. This has sometimes been interpreted as a pagan sun symbol, or a garland of victory like those worn by a Roman emperor. However, because the crucified Christ is nearly always found at the center of the ring, many people would prefer to see the circle as a cosmic symbol, with Christ at the center of the universe, particularly as the early Christians saw the Crucifixion as the most central and crucial event in the whole history of the universe.

 The Irish crosses were doubtless intended as aids to prayer. After all, if the Tibetans have their prayer wheels, why should the ancient Irish not have had similar aids in the form of their wheeled crosses? It has been pointed out that where inscriptions are found on Irish crosses, they are placed al the bottom of the shaft, just above the base, so that they could be read best by those kneeling in prayer in front of them - and it is in precisely this pose that we see pilgrims depicted in mid-nineteenth century drawings at around the time of the Great Irish Famine, when prayer for many may have seemed the only hope for survival.

 One further characteristic which sets aside these crosses from almost all others is the way in which the head and shaft of the cross are covered with sculptures illustrating the scriptures - and where else in the world can be found this subtle spiritual blend? The combination of cross-shape and biblical narrative lead the mind and heart to contemplate the core story of the crosses, namely the Crucifixion; and most of the scenes culled from the Old and New Testaments are chosen because they foreshadow the sacrifice which Christ made upon the cross for mankind.

 Though we cannot of course be sure, it is likely that the crosses were carved by Irish monks who were imbued with the same artistic qualities as the scribes of the Book of Kells or the goldsmiths and silversmiths who made the liturgical chalices from Ardagh and Derrynaflan.

 Through wear and tear and acid rain, the worn surfaces of the sculptures have often made clear identification of the panels difficult, giving rise to widely differing interpretations. But, if you get it right, it can emerge that the choice of subjects on the two faces of the cross were cleverly selected to relate to one another, with Old Testament scenes on one side prefiguring those of the New Testament on the other, such as the Sacrifice of Isaac and the Crucifixion. One particularly fascinating instance is the Broken Cross at Kens, where emphasis on water scenes (e.g. Noah's Ark and Cana) in the Bible underlies the cleansing effect of the sacrament of baptism as an integral part of church teaching.

 When we look at these crosses today, we see a dull gray stone which really only comes to life when the sun shines obliquely on it to bring out light and shadow. But, although not a trace of color has ever been found on them, there is a very good reason to believe that they must once have been painted, like the Parthenon in Athens. Such evidence comes from the missing body of the Christ Child across the flat, square Virgin's body on the charming Flight into Egypt scene on the Moone cross, or the scene on Muiredach's cross at Monasterboice where Christ is shown wearing the purple or scarlet robe - a point in the gospel story which would have been lost had no pigment been applied.

 That consideration also brings us to a very relevant parallel for the crosses, namely contemporary church frescoes. These were of course painted and in the first millennium had a similar choice of subject and a remarkable resemblance to the crosses in the composition of the individual panels. In the small dark interiors of Irish wooden or stone churches, the painted panels would have taken the place of frescoes and would have served the same purpose namely, to induce thoughts of piety and to focus the mind on the Bible and the story of Christ.

 Seeing the crosses standing in their original locations today is as unforgettable an experience as it presumably was for the pilgrims who would have knelt in front of them in prayer during the ninth and tenth centuries. They still urge the faithful to an even higher spirituality and inspire a feeling of religious fervor through the combination of cross, carving and color. In our modern materialistic day and age, we could do far worse than to stand in wonderment in front of these great stone monuments and have our own thoughts turn towards inner values and re-create the beatific ideals of the early Irish monks.

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