Cross-slab, Coomanaspig, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Crosses & Monuments
On the north-facing slope of Kilkeaveragh mountain in County Kerry, a small roadside well sits quietly within a stone structure whose every surface appears to have been marked with a cross.
The well itself, known in Irish as Tobar Chúm an Easpaig, is enclosed by two side slabs and a covering lintel, and even the upper face of that lintel carries a faintly incised linear cross. It is the kind of detail that rewards a second look: not one cross but several, worked into different stones at different depths, as though each generation or each visitor felt the need to add their own mark to the place.
The well sits within a cluster of associated features on the Iveragh Peninsula, the great south-western arm of Kerry that stretches out towards the Atlantic. A short paved path leads to the well entrance, and one of the structural slabs along this approach is incised with a deeply cut cross, distinct in character from the faint line work on the lintel above. An upright slab positioned in front of the well, measuring roughly 60 centimetres tall by 35 centimetres wide, carries a similar incised cross. Cross-slabs of this kind, simple upright stones bearing an incised or relief cross, are among the most widespread early Christian monument types in Ireland, often associated with sacred sites, pilgrimage routes, and places of local devotion. The convergence of well, paved approach, and multiple inscribed stones here suggests a site that accumulated significance over time, each element reinforcing the others. The Irish name, which translates loosely as the well of the bishop's hollow, hints at an ecclesiastical association, though the specifics have not been recorded.