Irish High Crosses
Connor St Saviour's (C of I) Parish Church is built on, or close to, the site of a pre-Norman monastery and a medieval Cathedral. Traditionally the Early Christian monastery was founded by St MacNissi in the late 5th/early 6th Century. the only remaining artifacts on site today are two bullaun stones from the Early Christian period and the broken shaft of a high cross, pictured below. It is believed the cross shaft was discovered by a family digging a grave in the late 19th century, it was not unusual for high crosses to be buried for protection during the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland, the family may have used the fragment as a gravemarker. Canon Fitzgerald, realising the importance of the cross shaft had it removed to the vestry. The family, feeling agrieved, broke into the church and smashed it into several pieces. Canon Fitzgerald reconstructed the pieces and once more stored it in the church. The shaft is carved from reddened basalt and bears two iconographic panels on one face and another panel is carved on the side. |
|
South side? |
East face? |
Harbison identifies the lower panel on the east face as the story of Cain slaying Abel, Cain appears to be holding a weapon above Abels head similar to iconography on other high crosses, he also suggests the figure on the left is of God with his hand on Cains shoulder. He identifies the upper panel as Joseph being lifted from the pit and sold into slavery. Buick suggests it may be Aaron and Hur holding up the arms of Moses, either of these interpretations would suggest this is the east face as the iconography is from the Old Testament. The south side had a badly damaged iconographic panel at the bottom of the shaft. Pictured below are the two bullaun stones present outside of the rectory. It is unsure where they were originally located. Both of them have a single bullaun in the upper surface. Bullaun stones are generally associated with early ecclesiastical sites. |
|
|
|
|
Situated: In St Saviour's Church, Connor, County Antrim. Group: Ulster Discoverer Map 14: J 1497 9694. Last Visit: Sept 2025. Longitude: 6° 12' 44.9" W Latitude: 54° 48' 26.3" N Photos: José Gutiérrez. |
Nearest High Crosses featured on this website
Ardboe: 44 Kilometres SW. Camus: 54 Kilometres NNW. Donaghmore, Tyrone: 66 Kilometres SW Downpatrick: 70 Kilometres SSE
|
Ref:Buick, George R. “The High Cross of Connor, Co. Antrim.” Ulster Journal of Archaeology, vol. 9, no. 1, 1903, pp. 41–42. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20566144 Irishhighcrosses.com, The High Crosses of Antrim. Barney R. Mclaughlin |
|
Previous-----Crosses home-----Next