Bealin High Cross

Baylin High Cross
Native name Ardchros Bhéal Linne (Irish)
West side view of cross
Type	High cross
Location	Twyford Demesne, County Westmeath, Ireland
Coordinates	53.435149°N 7.844919°W / 53.435149; -7.844919
Height	2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Built	c. AD 800
Location of Baylin High Cross in Ireland
National monument of 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.

Location

Baylin High Cross is located about 6.2 km (3.9 mi) east of Athlone.

Description

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]

• 
  East side view
• 
  Crawford's sketch of ornamentations

References

1. "National Monuments of County Westmeath in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 2. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
2. Andrew Halpin; Conor Newman (2006). Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600. Oxford University Press. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-19-280671-0.
3. "Bealin High Cross". Megalithicireland.com. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
4. McLaughlin, Barney. "Bealin - Irish High Crosses - Barney McLaughlin".
5. Heraghty, Michael (19 December 2006). "Baylin (Bealin) High Cross - Westmeath -". Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.