- Antrim Round Tower
- Ardboe Cross
- Ballygroll Prehistoric Complex
- Beaghmore Stone Circles
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Ardboe Cross
Ardboe Cross is a national monument dating from the 9th or 10th century. It is believed to be the first High Cross built in Ulster. It is the third highest cross in Ireland and the tallest in Northern Ireland, standing at 18.5ft high (5.5 m) and 3.5 feet wide. This is the original stone cross, placed here over 1000 years ago. The 22 panels depict Old Testament stories and New Testament scenes. There are also remains of a 6th century monastery established by Saint Colman Muchaidhe (Irish: Naomh Colmán), burned in 1166 and not rebuilt. Ardboe Cross is situated in Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland; it is sited on a small hillock close to the western shore of Lough Neagh.
Ardboe Cross and abbey (Irish: Seanchrois Ard Bó agus Ministir Naomh Colmán) are State Care Historic Monuments in the townland of Farsnagh and Sessia in the Cookstown District Council area.
Features
What makes the Ardboe cross so unusual is that it is still the original, complete piece of stone erected at the site over 1000 years ago. Similar crosses elsewhere are either incomplete, or else composites of more than one cross pieced together in more recent years.
The cross is made of sandstone with a taller more narrow shaft with a small cross head. The cross is quite damaged and weathered - emigrants in the earlier part of this century often took with them a small chip of stone from the cross - but it is still a great example of figure carving, incorporating 22 panels of sculpture of biblical events. The top stone of the cross became dislodged around 1817 and the upper portion, including the arms, fell down in 1846. Colonel Stewart of Killymoon Castle then carried out its re-erection and restoration. The cross stands on a two-part base, the lower stone of which is rectangular and flat-topped and surmounted by a smaller stone cut in truncated pyramidal form. The base is undecorated except for a simple roll moulding defining the sides. From the base the shaft rises to a band or collar, slightly wider than the sides of the shaft. Above this band the lowest part of the head is treated as a panel above which the open ring, decorated with billets, surrounds the intersection of the arms with the shaft. The cross is finished with a house-shaped cap. The northern upper portion of the ring is missing.
This cross would appear to be the only example where the shaft and head belong together originally, thus it has a distinguishing "collar" on the shaft where the two sections of stone are attached. The northern upper portion of the ring is missing.
Opening times: Free access all year round. Location: Ardboe, County Tyrone |
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