Eglish North Celtic Cross

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Name: Eglish North Cross, the name is from the Irish, An Eaglais, the Church.

Location: Eglish Townland, Benburg, Co. Armagh, Ireland.

Access: By road with parking facilities beside the old Churchyard, that this cross and the remains of it's sister cross Eglish South is located.

Description: The base is pyramidal and the cross-head has a ring with circular projections in the inner circumference.

The stone within the ring is unpierced but deeply sunken. Decoration is confined to the projections on the ring and a circular frame at the crossing.

The south side has a pattern of 'bossed spirals'. On the north side, fine overall interlace creates a cross at the centre.

This decoration is said to link the North Cross with others in the Blackwater Valley area and a late 9th or 10th century date is likely.

The shape of this cross, like it sister cross, repersents the old Irish navigational instrument.

Traditional Lore:  Early Church Site: The stone crosses preserved in this hilltop graveyard, though battered and incomplete, are precious survivals from an important early church site that had the necessary patronage to be able to commission at least two stone crosses over 1000 years ago.

There are fine views of the hilly NW Armagh landscape from the graveyard, Just a mile south of the Blackwater river.

Information: At some time in the 1970s the North Cross was knocked over and damaged. A drawing which was made in 1884 shows the cross sitting on the base.

The Crosses came into state care in 1989 because the local people where worried about the damage and wanted to see them secured, and preferably restored.

The head of the North Cross was restored, but it was uncertain whether it originally had a further cap to it.

The original height of the cross is also unknown. It was given a simple shaft, Reset in the base and re-erected in the graveyard.

As the cross-head is small, so the shaft is unlikely to have been vey tall.

Measurements: Original height unknown.

Lat. 54 23.4' N :  Long. : 06 45.6' W

Other Sites close by: Eglish South Celtic Cross  Corhill Inscribed Stone Caledorn House Celtic Cross Tynan Celtic Cross Tynan Abbey Celtic Cross North Tynan Abbey Celtic Cross South

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