Sheela-na-gig (present location), Springhouse, Co. Tipperary

Co. Tipperary |

Ecclesiastical Sites

Sheela-na-gig (present location), Springhouse, Co. Tipperary

High on the north gable wall of a stable block in the courtyard of Kilshane demesne, a small limestone figure watches over a space now far removed from wherever she originally belonged.

The carving is a sheela-na-gig, a category of medieval stone figure found across Ireland and Britain, typically depicting a female form with exaggerated or explicitly displayed genitalia. Scholars have debated their purpose for generations, with theories ranging from fertility symbols to apotropaic warnings carved above doorways to ward off evil. This particular example is modest in scale, roughly thirty centimetres wide and twenty centimetres high, and is set just below a bellcote, the small turret-like structure built to hold a bell, at the apex of the gable end.

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Pete F
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