I9IO. Agnew. — Rosapcnna Cojifcrence. — Arch ecology. 197 



Christian Antiquities. 



To?y Island. — Near West Town, said to have been the 

 landing-place of St. Coluniba, stand the remains of some of the 

 most interesting i.sland antiquities of Ireland. Near the 

 harbour, and mounted on a platform of rude stones, is the 

 famous Tau Cross (Plate 12). Getty says — '* It is a monolith of 

 the following dimensions : — Full height, 6 feet ; breadth of 

 shaft, 2 feet 2 inches ; breadth across arms, 3 feet 8 inches ; 

 and is formed of mica slate, 5I inches in thickness, of ver>' 

 durable texture." The peculiar type of the cross warrants the 

 suggestion that it may have been pre-Christian in origin, but 

 it w^as undoubtedly consecrated from very early times. 



West of the cross is the cloch-teac or bell tower attributed 

 to St. Columba (Plate 4). It was by this tower that the Church 

 of St. Columba formerly stood. According to W. F. Wakeman 

 the first monastery on Tory was founded by St. Martin, a friend 

 and companion of St. Patrick. It appears to have been 

 re-founded by St. Columba circa 545 A.D. There is a record of 

 the re-erection of the church of Tory, 616 A.D., by the Cinel 

 Connaill, it having been destroyed some time before. The 

 religiotis settlement existed on Tory until 1595, when 

 George Bingham, Governor of Sligo, landed on the island, 

 murdered the monks, and pillaged the monastery. Little 

 now remains save the cloch-teac, which is interesting as being 

 one of the smallest round towers known, a fact probably 

 rendered necessary by its exposure to the great gales of 

 the Atlantic. Immediately in front of the round tow^er a 

 number of interesting fragments of ancient stone sculpture 

 have been built into a square altar-like structure known to 

 the islanders as St. John's Altar. These fragments include 

 two stone coffin slabs, showing remains of Celtic ornament- 

 ation ; a trough-like hollow stone, hardly as deep as a coffin ; 

 a curious circular slone, evidently the base of a cross ; several 

 sculptured stones, and the central portion of a cross on which 

 is carved a human figure, which may represent either 

 St. Columba or St. Ernan. On the altar are several rude 

 stone vessels. Near the tower is the Abbey enclosure, or 

 Rath Finian, which according to the Four Masters, was 

 founded by St. Ernan. It is to be regretted that the single 

 arch described as standing in 1845 by Getty has entirely 

 disappeared. 



