Macalister— 7%e History and Antiquities of tnis Cealtra. 161 



the head of the cross can no longer be ascertained. The interlacing paLtern 

 on the dexter side is very badly scaled and broken ; the restoration I have 

 suggested, from the fragments that remain, is a plait of broad bands, each 

 flanked by narrow bands. Such a combination of broad and narrow bantls, 

 effective though it be, is rare in Ireland ; there is a good example at Conchan, 

 Isle of Man.' A square piece has been cut out from the surface at the lower 

 end of this interlacing panel, and from the sinister side a slip of the shape of 

 the cuttings that form the diaper has also been removed. This has evidently 

 been done with an intention, for which there seems no obvious reason. It 

 has occurred to me that it might have been the work of a dishonest artist 

 wlio was pleased with the pattern, and wished to acquire a sample to serve 

 as a model ; though I admit that the theory is far-fetched. 



The three fragments that follow are too incomplete to allow of their 

 design being described with certainty. 



(78). CJSTN 6. Plate XXIV, fig. 1. A fragment, 1 foot 6 inches by 

 1 foot 7 inches by 3 j inches, with what appears to be part of the stem of a 

 three-line cross in a rectangular single-line frame, with simple corner-pieces, 

 one of which remains. The lines of the carving are clogged with cement. 



(79). CNN 16. Plate XVI, fig 16. This curious fragment bears what 

 appears to be the central stem of a cross with hollows at the angles, drilled 

 through the stone ; the arms being supported by uprights with a horizontal 

 bar connecting them with the sides of the stem of the cross. The well- 

 known standing cross at Cashel may be compared. At the margin of the 

 stone is a rounded bead-moulding. The horizontal bars between the cross- 

 stem and the upright supports are recessed \ inch behind the surface of the 

 stone, and the background of the pattern is recessed | inch. The other face 

 of the slab is similar, but it is ni low relief, and the horizontal bars are left 

 out. 



(80). Lying beside CNS 12. A fragment, measuring 5 inches square by 

 IJ inches thick, with part of the stem of a two-line cross, 1 ii\ch broad, 

 running over it. 



(f). Lost Slabs. 



(81). CIIL, vol. ii, p. 43 ; Plate XXIV, fig. 3. This stone is not actually 

 lost, as we know where it is ; but it is lost to Inis Cealtra. It was removed 

 by the late Ijord Dunraven to Adare many years ago, apparently under the 

 impression that the Conn whom it commemorates was the ancestor of the 



'■ See Kermode, " Manx Crosses," Plate XXI, fig. 59 A. 



