| Baylin High Cross | |
|---|---|
| Native name Irish: Ardchros Bhéal Linne | |
 West side view of cross | |
| Type | High cross |
| Location | Twyford Demesne, County Westmeath, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°26′07″N7°50′42″W / 53.435149°N 7.844919°W |
| Height | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Built | c. AD 800 |
  Location of Baylin High Cross in Ireland | |
| Official name | Bealin Cross |
| Reference no. | 223 [1] |
Baylin High Cross is a high cross and National Monument located near Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland.
Baylin High Cross is located about 6.2 km (3.9 mi) east of Athlone.
The cross is believed to have been moved, perhaps from Clonmacnoise. [2] On the east face was a lion and a scroll of interlaced creatures with birdlike heads running up the shaft, and a Celtic knot pattern at the centre of the head. The North face shows a hunting scene with a horseman with spear and a dog biting a deer's leg.
There is an inscription at the bottom of the west face dating the cross to around AD 800: the inscription reads OROIT AR TUATHGALL LAS DERNATH IN CHROSSA ("A Prayer for Tuathgal who caused this cross to be made"), referring to the Abbot of Clonmacnoise who died in 811. [3] [4] [5]
A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. These probably developed from earlier traditions using wood, perhaps with metalwork attachments, and earlier pagan Celtic memorial stones; the Pictish stones of Scotland may also have influenced the form. The earliest surviving examples seem to come from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, which had been converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries; it remains unclear whether the form first developed in Ireland or Britain.
Athlone is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of 22,869 in the 2022 census.
The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses erected across the islands, especially in regions evangelized by Irish missionaries, from the ninth through the 12th centuries.
County Westmeath is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of Meath, which was named Mide because the kingdom was located in the geographical centre of Ireland. Westmeath County Council is the administrative body for the county, and the county town is Mullingar. At the 2022 census, the population of the county was 95,840.
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain. Offaly County Council is the local authority for the county. The county population was 82,668 at the 2022 census.
Clonmacnoise is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht.
Muiredach's High Cross is a high cross from the 10th or possibly 9th century, located at the ruined monastic site of Monasterboice, in County Louth, Ireland. There are two other high crosses at Monasterboice; in local terms Muiredach's cross is also known as the South Cross. Muiredach's cross is the most impressive surviving example of early medieval Irish stonework, and the crosses at Monasterboice have been said to be Ireland's greatest contribution to European sculpture.
The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland.
Castletown Geoghegan is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland, and lies south west of Lough Ennell near the county town of Mullingar. Castletown was the seat of the Geoghegan family of the medieval Barony of Moycashel in County Westmeath.
Athlone is a town on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree in Ireland. Located on the border between County Westmeath and County Roscommon, the development of the Athlone owes much to the location of a strategic ford on the Shannon.
Mount Temple is a village in County Westmeath in Ireland, about 6.5 km northwest of Moate. It is noted for its golf course of the same name. It was historically called Ballyloughloe. Mount Temple and its 'sister' village, Baylin, form the only two in the parish of Ballyloughloe.
Athlone Castle, sometimes known as Adamson Castle, is a castle located in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, dating from the 12th century.
Clonlonan is a barony in south–west County Westmeath, Ireland. It was formed by 1672. It is bordered by County Offaly to the south and a small part of County Roscommon at Long Island on the River Shannon to the west. It also borders four other Westmeath baronies: Kilkenny West and Rathconrath, Moycashel and Brawny. The largest centre of population in the barony is the town of Moate.
Castlekeeran is a former monastery and a National Monument in County Meath, Ireland.
Dromiskin Monastery is a medieval monastery and National Monument located in Dromiskin, County Louth in Ireland.
Odhran Ua hEolais was a medieval scribe and scholar at the abbey of Clonmacnoise. He must have been born, and lived his childhood, in the kingdom of Conmaicne Magh Réin, which corresponds to present day south county Leitrim. We do not know any significant details of his personal life, but Odhran moved to county Offaly in adult life, to become Lector and a famous scriba of Clonmacnoise. His death is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters. A cross-stone of Odhran, with his name inscription legible in middle Irish, is preserved to this day.
The Kilnaruane Pillar Stone is a carved monolith and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland.
Baylin, also written Bealin is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Athlone. Its postal address is Baylin, Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland.
Tonaknock Cross is a high cross and National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland.
The Rinnegan Crucifixion Plaque is a late 7th or early 8th century Irish gilt-bronze crucifixion plaque sculpture found in the 19th century in the churchyard of St. John’s on the head of Lough Ree in Rinnegan County Westmeath, and near Athlone, County Roscommon. It is one of the earliest extant representations of the crucifixion in Irish art, and outside of illuminated manuscripts, a rare example of both representation and a narrative scene in early Irish Insular art.