Moone Stones

Moone (in Kildare) is noted for its High Cross, the second tallest in Ireland.

However the entrance leading to it is not inviting. It is a narrow gate on a busy road with little space for parking. The sense of privacy around it might be explained by the fact that despite being open to the public it is the back gate to a mid-18th century Palladian house. The cross stands inside, in the ruins of Moone Abbey which was built 700 years after St Columcille founded a community there in the 6th century.

The 8th century cross itself is a strikingly presence within the walls of the ruined church. Its state of preservation is remarkable. When Cromwellian forces burnt the nearby castle in the 17th century the cross was buried and rediscovered only in 1835 and moved to its present location in 1995.

During a recent visit I took time to read the detailed explanatory panels on the walls beside the cross and began to get an idea of its significance.   

Irish High Crosses have been described by those who should know as ‘mega-monuments’, ‘Ireland’s greatest contribution to European sculpture in the Middle Ages’ and the ‘relics of a great civilisation’. I felt ashamed I knew so little about them.

Most of them were carved from sandstone but those in Moone are granite, making them more difficult to cut and leading to more stylised forms.

Recently I have being exploring the roots of Irish culture by visiting ‘forgotten places’ around the country.  Now I realise that we have, in the crosses, an even more accessible doorway into a period of Irish society of which we know little.

There are over 300 free-standing High Crosses around the country, all different.  Looking at the list I realised that I have visited most of the locations without giving more than a cursory look at the crosses. I am probably not alone in missing what they have to tell us, the story of an earlier Ireland and its expanding understanding of the world.   

Now I am trying to catch up by reading more about the Crosses. One author says, ‘The Irish high crosses give up their mysteries one at a time’. I look forward to that.