Ahenny High Crosses

On an E-facing slope in undulating hilly terrain. A high cross, of sandstone, is centrally placed within a square graveyard (TS079-007005-) defined by a stone wall. A later medieval church (TS079-007001-) is located c. 30m to the N. Another high cross (TS079-007003-) is located to the S and a cross base (TS079-007004-) to the SE. The N cross (H 3.65m; Wth 1.39m) is of the ringed high cross type with a conical capstone. The cross itself is decorated with ornamental designs which are paralleled in 8th-century metalwork (Richardson and Scarry 1990, 29). The stepped base (1.23m x 1.05m; H 0.66m) is decorated with figured scenes on all four sides. The N side depicts a procession with chariot; the E side Adam naming the animals; the S side a funeral procession, an ecclesiastic with a ringed processional cross walks in front of a horse bearing a headless body, ravens attack the corpse and at the rear a man carries the head; the W side depicts seven cloaked figures carrying staffs or croziers and has been interpreted as seven bishops or the mission of the apostles (ibid.; Hickey 1955, 118-21). The high cross is part of a group of crosses identified with the former medieval kingdom of Ossory (Crawford 1909, 256-60; Edwards 1983, 5-46).