Cross-slab, Edenmore (Clonleigh North Ed), Co. Donegal
Co. Donegal |
Crosses & Monuments
Clonleigh graveyard in County Donegal holds the remnants of what's believed to be an early ecclesiastical settlement dating back to the 6th century.
The site sits atop a low drumlin-like hill, surrounded by what was once marshy floodplain near where the Rivers Deele and Foyle converge, though much of this wetland has since been reclaimed. The graveyard contains the partial ruins of a medieval church, with only fragmentary sections of its north and south walls still standing; the structure measured 6.8 metres wide internally.
The surviving church walls tell an intriguing architectural story. The rubble-built north wall stands 6.1 metres long and 4.15 metres high, whilst the south wall, now incorporated into the graveyard boundary, reaches 4.5 metres in height. Both walls contain blocked-up windows with segmental rear-arches, and remarkably, traces of the original wicker centering used during construction still cling to the soffit of the south wall's arch. The north wall shows evidence of later refacing work that concealed the exterior traces of its window opening. Though no visible traces remain of the church's east or west gables, a curious sub-rectangular projection in the graveyard wall about 9.7 metres to the east may have once been connected to the church structure.
Recent conservation work by Donegal County Council has unveiled several medieval treasures previously hidden in the soil. Three fragments of carved medieval mouldings have emerged, along with a particularly striking recumbent slab measuring 1.68 metres long. This tapered stone slab bears a deeply carved Maltese cross, 32 centimetres square, with a raised central boss 9 centimetres across. These artefacts, found on the eastern side of the graveyard near the ruined church, add another layer to the site's long religious history and suggest the importance of this ecclesiastical settlement throughout the medieval period.