: 
“a 
211 
ployed to copy them. Mr. Otway then alluded to the pro- 
perty which one of the vaults at Knockmoy possesses of 
preserving from corruption the bodies therein deposited, 
and took occasion to animadvert on the careless and unbe- 
coming way in which these depositories of the dead were 
left open to public intrusion. Having spoken of Rossreilly 
Abbey, near Headford, and exhibited a moss-covered skull 
taken from these ruins, he next adverted to the Abbey of 
Cong ; there also he shewed that the prejudices and super- 
stitions of the people are accelerating the demolition of the 
building, and, as an instance, he stated how, not long ago, 
the tomb alleged to be that of Roderick O’Connor, was 
overwhelmed by a person who, in consequence of a dream, 
undermined the Abbey-wall to come at hidden treasure. 
Mr. Otway concluded his paper with an account of Clare 
Island and Abbey, the residence and place of interment of 
the famous Grace O’Mealy. 
Sir William Betham read a paper on two remarkable 
pieces of antiquity preserved at Cong, in the County of 
Mayo. 
The first, he stated, is a cross, whose perpendicular shaft 
is six inches high, the arms one foot six inches, and the 
whole five-eighths of an inch thick. Upon the edge is the 
following inscription, intimating that this reliquary once 
enclosed a portion of the true cross : 
HAC. CRVCE. CRVX. TEGITVR. QVA. PASSVS. CONDITOR. ORBIS. 
There are several other inscriptions in the Irish charac- 
ters and language, of which Sir William also gave readings 
and translations; but these he has since withdrawn. 
The second reliquary described in this paper, was known 
popularly, as the author stated, by the name of the Breast- 
plate; but in his opinion it was undoubtedly a case for a 
manuscript copy of the Gospels. Sir William exhibited a 
u2 
