Monasterboice, Co. Louth

Monasterboice is an early Irish church dedicated to St Buithe who died around 520 and was closely associated with one of Ireland’s greatest saints, Colum Cille.
One story about Buithe recounts that he brought back to life a man who had been beheaded by the high king of Ireland. The fortunate man spent his remaining days tending to the monastic garden at Monasterboice.
Ironically, it was Buithe’s own head would be the monastery’s greatest relic, until it was stolen from the church in 1520, a thousand years after his death.
During the early medieval period Monasterboice was a centre of early Christian learning and literature, as reflected in the obituary of one of its clerics Flann Mainistreach who died in 1056. He was described in the annals as lector of Monasterboice and master of ‘wisdom, literature, history, poetry and science’.
Some years later, in 1097, the bell-tower of Monasterboice was burnt, resulting in the destruction of the monastery’s books and treasures. It is possible that this belfry was a wooden tower and that the stone tower that remains today was built soon after to replace it.
This six-storey round tower at stands 28.5m high and originally it must have been even taller as much of the top storey and the roof is missing.
Near the foot of the tower is one of two monumental stone crosses. Appropriately known as the Tall Cross, it stands 7m high and is the tallest cross in Ireland. It is constructed from four stones comprising the base, shaft, cross head and cap stone.
The east side of the cross features carvings depicting many scenes and figures from the Old Testament, while the west face is devoted to the events surrounding the crucifixion of Christ.
The second cross at Monasterboice stands some 5m tall, and though it may not be as big as the Tall Cross, it is arguably the finest example of a high cross in the country.
An inscription in Irish at the base of the shaft commemorates Muiredach, abbot of Monasterboice, who died in 924, and the cross is today known as Muiredach’s Cross.
The east face of the cross features several Biblical scenes, and on the cross head is a remarkable depiction of the Last Judgement complete with St Michael weighing the souls. To the left of Christ are the souls of the saved who deserve a place in heaven, while to his right a bearded devil holding a trident takes away the bad souls.
On the west face of the cross head is the crucifixion, while at the base of the shaft is the scene of Christ being mocked by Roman soldiers, though the sword carrying, moustachioed men were inspired by Irish or Viking warriors.
The sculptor who carved this cross had a sense of humour. At the base of the shaft on the north face are two long-haired men pulling each other’s beards, while on the west face are two cats - one licking its kitten, while the other is about to devour a bird.
The high crosses at Monasterboice are iconic of early Christianity in Ireland. In fact, they are part of a series of sculpted stone crosses across the country that stand out as some of the finest carvings anywhere in Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries.