Irish High Crosses
Armagh Market Cross At least five crosses are mentioned in the Annals at Armagh. Standing in the north aisle of St Patrick's, Church of Ireland, Cathedral is a fragment of a high cross head and the composite shaft of a high cross. The east face of the head, pictured below, bears a crucifixion scene, Longinus and Stephaton can clearly be seen on either side of Christ, Stephaton's spear pierces Christ's left side and on each side of Christ's head is an angel. The crucifixion scene on the west face of Muirdach's Cross at Monasterboice is a superb, less weathered, example of this scene. Unfortunately we were unable to photograph the west face as the head has been placed too close to the wall. The scene on this face is unidentified but it may, also like Monasterboice, bear a depiction The Last Judgement. The south arm has a depiction of one of the two thieves with a soldier on either side of him. The north arm probably bore the second crucified thief. It is highly likely that this cross head was connected to the upper part of the shaft on display in the Cathedral.
The shaft is comprised of a large fragment with a modern base, and a smaller fragment is placed on the top. The head and these two fragments are all very similar in style and have always been considered as three fragments of the same cross, but Harbison has suggested the head and upper fragment may belong to a separate cross than the larger shaft fragment. The East face of the shaft bears some instantly recognisable iconography. The bottom panel is a badly weathered depiction of Adam and Eve knowing their nakedness, the second panel bears Noah's Ark and above it is the Sacrifice of Isaac. The two pieces of panels above are broken and badly weathered. The top panel may of originally had three figures? The south side, pictured below is believed to feature David and Goliath in the second Panel with David slaying the Lion above it. The other panels are badly weathered. I have added a page showing various panels from different high crosses, this may help to identify the inconographic scenes. |
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East face |
South side |
Sacrifice of Isaac |
Noah's Ark |
The west face of the shaft, pictured below left, has suffered greatly from erosion. Panel one, at the base features the Annunciation to the Shepherds, Roe and Glancy suggests the tall figure on the left is an Angel of the Lord, on the right is a shepherd and between them are three sheep. Panel two above it bears Adoration of the Magi. The next panel up has a deep depression in the bottom left, but the iconography represents Baptism of Christ, see the West cross at Kells, County Meath for an excellent depiction of this scene. It is believed the top panel may represent the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, but the panel is badly damaged. Pictured below right is the north side, at the base is a depiction of Three Children in the Fiery Furnace. Above it is a panel of interlace. |
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West face |
North side |
Graveyard Cross In the graveyard next to the gateway, stands the stump of a badly worn high cross shaft, that sits in a pyramidal base. Some of the sides appear to be decorated with lozenge shapes. A D-shape at the base of the east face may contain a quadruped. You can clearly see why Roe thought the motives resembled the high cross at Donaghmore in Tyrone, see south face. |
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East Face |
South Side |
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Situated: In St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Cathedral Close, Armagh. Group: Ulster Discoverer 19. Map: H 8742 4516. Last Visit: July 2025. Longitude: 6° 39' 22.5" W Latitude: 54° 20' 52.5" N Photos: José Gutiérrez. |
Nearest High Crosses featured on this website Tynan: 12.8 Kilometres West. Donaghmore, Tyrone: 26 Kilometres NNW Ardboe: 38 Kilometres NNE. Clogher: 40 Kilometres WNW Clones: 45 Kilometres WSW.
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Ref: Roe, Helen M., and Michael Glancy. “Antiquities of the Archdiocese of Armagh: A Photographic Survey. Part II The High Crosses of Co. Armagh.” Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society, vol. 1, no. 2, 1955, pp. 107–14. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/29740599 Ref: The High Crosses of County Armagh by Barney R. McLaughlin |
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