The city of the seven churches, Clonmacnoise, was founded in 548 AD and lasted a thousand years. Now it seems a quiet ruined abbey, but at its full flowering it was a bustling important centre, a university city on a major Irish highway, the River Shannon. Such a university city - and there were several in Ireland - was a centre of classical, as well as religious learning, of art, calligraphy, design, and of gold and silver craftsmanship. Kuno Meyer, the German Scholar who was professor of Irish at the University of Liverpool at the turn of this century, could write. "for once, at any rate, Ireland drew upon herself the attention of the whole world as the great seminary of Christian and classical learning."

A monastery was founded on the site in 548 AD by St. Ciarn, son of a Donegal father and a Co. Kerry mother. This grew and prospered and by 800 AD a Gaelic poet was writing:

Ailill the king is vanished,
Vanished Croghan's fort,
Kings to Clonmacnoise now,
Come to pay their court little places taken,
First by twos and threes,
Are like Rome reborn, Peopled sanctuaries.
(Trans. Frank O'Connor in "Kings, Lords and Commons". New York 1959)

It was probably around 800 AD that the Cross of the Scriptures was carved and erected. It has elaborate carvings both of Scriptural and contemporary scenes as well as animals and birds. One panel on the East face shows an ecclesiastic and a warrior with a sword, and between them a staff with leaves or flowers. It is intriguing to think that this may depict St. Ciaran's staff, and that the panel may be showing "a swearing on the staff", a custom which is known to have existed but the details of which are lost.

The Last Judgement is shown at the centre on the East face, and on the West face, the Crucifixion. There is a lovely touch at the bottom of the West shaft where there is a panel showing Our Lord's body in the tomb. Two snoozing soldiers are sitting on the tomb while in his mouth a small bird breaths life - symbol of his imminent Resurrection.

Celtic High Cross of Clonmacnoise / Scriptures Purchasing Options

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