The graveslab of Bernard Con O'Neill, recorded in the Urban Survey of Donegal, offers a tantalising glimpse into the artistic and cultural traditions of Tudor-era Ireland. Though the original stone has since been lost, a 19th-century account preserved in the Memorials of the Dead (1892-4) provides detailed descriptions of its remarkable decorative elements and Latin inscription.

The slab bore an intriguing mix of symbols that spoke to both maritime and celestial themes; a ship, a crescent moon, and a cornucopia were carved alongside three right hands, likely representing the Red Hand of Ulster associated with the O'Neill clan. The Latin inscription identified the deceased as "Bernard Con O'Neill, Abbot of Ballyshannon," with the text reading: "BERNARD CON ONEIL AB ORIS BELLESENIENSIS QUI OBIIT PRIDIE NON JUN ANNO DOMINI 15.." The final digits of the year were already illegible when Victorian antiquarians recorded it, leaving the exact date of O'Neill's death sometime in the 1500s a mystery.

This lost graveslab represents the kind of ecclesiastical monument that once dotted the Irish landscape, combining Gaelic heraldic traditions with Latin religious inscriptions. The choice of symbols, particularly the ship and cornucopia, suggests connections to trade and abundance, whilst the crescent moon might indicate either religious symbolism or simply the passage of time. Such decorated slabs served not just as memorials but as statements of power, faith, and cultural identity in an Ireland caught between its Gaelic heritage and increasing English influence.