St. Kevin’s Cross – Glendalough

This rather tall plain stone cross is quite remarkable, being  carved from just a single block of granite, with an unpierced ring. The arms of it span over a meter in length and it stands at approx 2.5 meters in height. As the name suggests, it was dedicated to St. Kevin. You really need to stand in front of it to truly appreciate its size and the amount of work that went into producing it. It is believed to have once marked the boundary of the cemetery in which stands the Priest’s House. I could not find any mention of a date for this cross, but considering its early Christian design, I would put it at 5^th – 6^th century.

Yet another example of how the early Christian church bridged the gap between the old ways and the new religion. This was done by combining the circle, which represented the Sun and/or Moon, with the Christian symbol of the cross. As both the Sun and Moon were connected to ancient practises by our ancestors, this made the eventual change-over much easier.  One local legend associated with the cross says that anyone who can wrap their arms around the entire width of the cross body and close the circle by touching fingertips will have their wishes granted.

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