Kilnaruane Pillar Stone Explained

Kilnaruane Pillar Stone
Native Name:	Cill na Rómhán
Native Language:	ga
Other Name:	Bantry Pillar Stone, St. Brendan's Stone
Coordinates:	51.6714°N -9.4681°W
Location:	Kilnaruane, Bantry, County Cork, Ireland
Built:	8th century AD
Type:	high cross remnant
Height:	2.13 m (7 ft)
Embedded:	Embed: yes Designation2: National Monument of Ireland Designation2 Offname: Kilnaruane/Bantry Pillar Stone Designation2 Number: 436^[1]

The Kilnaruane Pillar Stone is a carved monolith and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland.^[2]

Location

Kilnaruane Pillar Stone is located about 1.6 km (1 mile) southwest of Bantry, atop a drumlin, in a square enclosure in a field.^[3]

History

A monastery may have been founded here by Brendan in the 6th century AD.^[4]

The pillar was erected in the 8th or 9th century AD. The name may refer to "Church of the Romans", and a community which accepted the Roman dating of Easter, a major controversy in the early Middle Ages.^{[5] [6]}

The monastic settlement on the site may have been destroyed by a Viking attack.^[7]

Description

The stone is a thin schist pillar 2.1 m tall.^[8]

On the northeast face:

• Celtic knot
• an orans (praying figure)
• Greek cross
• Saints Anthony the Great and Paul the Hermit meeting in the desert: both were important figures in Christian monasticism. A raven flies down from heaven with a loaf of bread to feed them

On the southwest face

• Celtic knot
• Two pairs of sheep/goats with interlocked horns — this is now the symbol of the Sheep's Head peninsula
• a currach boat with four oarsmen and one figure steering the rowers through a sea of crosses. This could be Brendan or Cessair.^[9]

Mortises on either side of the pillar were probably for attaching arms of the cross.^[10] Nearby are stone fragments, possibly a bullaun or the arms of the high cross.^{[11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: National Monuments of County Cork in State Care . 4 . heritageireland.ie . National Monument Service . 2 July 2020.
2. Book: Day, Catharina . Southwest Ireland . 1 January 2007 . New Holland Publishers . 9781860113628 .
3. Book: Johnstone, Paul . The Sea-Craft of Prehistory . 12 November 2013 . Routledge. 9781317762225 .
4. Web site: St Brendan's Stone (Kilnaruane) . The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map . megalithic.co.uk.
5. Web site: The Kilnaruane Pillar Stone, Bantry, Ireland - BMD Notices .
6. Web site: Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society . 1 January 1978 . The Society . Google Books.
7. Web site: Kilnaruane Stone - Museums and attractions - Bantry . ireland.com.
8. Web site: Some Spared Stones of Ireland . irishmegaliths.org.uk.
9. Web site: Cork Cross - Irish High Crosses . Barney . McLaughlin . irishhighcrosses.com.
10. Book: McNally, Kenneth . Ireland's Ancient Stones - A Megalithic Heritage . Appleby Press . 2006 . 10 June 2018 .
11. Web site: Kilnaruane stone - Sheep's Head Places . sheepsheadplaces.net .
12. Web site: Kilnaruane Carved Pillar . irishantiquities.bravehost.com . 10 June 2018.