Thursday 31 December 2015

Youghalarra Carvings


Some carvings at Youghalvillage church outside Nenagh in North Tipp.
I took these initially because I wondered what the two circles were as part of the "ST. COE()' - it was only after I had took them that I checked the inventory more closely and it makes sense now. Some really interesting carvings here, some of them look to be fairly recent. I had hoped that in the dark and with the LED light that maybe I might have spotted something new but no luck on that front.




Archaeology.ie has this to say about them "These inscribed stones are built into the fabric of the church (TN014-045001) and are described with that entry. There is no need for a separate sub-element. Situated on the crest of a hill. A largely destroyed church (TN014-045001) constructed of roughly coursed limestone blocks. The S wall is best preserved, though the W end is gone. It retains some original features including a round-headed aumbry or piscina niche, though the piscina itself is missing. The external E end of the S wall is rendered with concrete with a gap to expose a round-headed single-light with external chamfer and splayed ingoings. The window is possibly composed of granite and is roughly dressed. On the E side of this window embrasure there is an incised Maltese cross and angel in a very naive style. A similar cross with angel on either side is carved in relief on the external S face of the church. At the W end of the S wall c. 2m above the external ground level a carved stone head (L 0.24m) protrudes from the wall - the hair is about ear length, the bulging eyes are near the top of the head, there is no nose, a long neck and a chin outlined by a curving groove. Beneath this head are three rectangular blocks of stone, one above two. The upper-most block has an incised inscription which reads 'ST. COE[ ]' and underneath this 'NE 433'. The lower W block has a Maltese cross and the E block has two angels as mentioned above."







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