"Carved Stone from Romanesque Church"

Date

12th century

Place

[Inishkeen Island, Upper Lough Erne]

Dimensions

Length: 31.5cm
Width: 28cm
Height: 29.5cm

Caption

This beautifully carved stone originally belonged to a Romanesque church on Inishkeen island, and supported a pilaster with corner mouldings. Romanesque carvings of the same high quality are found on Devenish Island and on the Romanesque doorway at Kilmore Cathedral. On one side of the stone is a design of two dragons, their heads back-to-back, each holding in its jaw a small human head. This may be intended to show the dragon swallowing the human, in which case it probably represents the damnation of man. Below the dragons are two birds’ heads, their beaks tucked in above the forepaw of each dragon. The other side of the stone has an asymmetrical foliate design which may have continued as a foliage scroll up the length of the jamb.

Credit

Kindly lent by the Historic Environment Division, DfC

Copyright

Historic Environment Division, DfC
Tony Corey

Object number

FCM_1983_071