Muirdach's Cross (South Cross)
The cross near the entrance to the site is Muirdach's Cross (a.k.a Muiredach's Cross).
It dates from 900-923 AD and stands 5.5m (16 feet) tall. It is named
for an abbot mentioned in the inscription on the base: "A prayer for
Muirdach for whom the cross was made."
The carvings have not all been certainly identified, but on the eastern face,
from the bottom up, they appear to represent: the Fall of Adam and Eve
and the murder of Abel; David and Goliath; Moses bringing water from the
rock to the Israelites; the Three Magi bearing gifts to Mary and Jesus.
The center of the cross on the eastern face depicts the Last
Judgment, with the saved (led by David with a harp) on Christ's right
and the damned on his left; above that is St. Paul in the desert. These
seemingly unrelated scenes may be connected by the themes of sin,
judgment and atonement.
The western face of Muirdach's Cross focuses on
the New Testament and depicts, from the bottom up: the arrest or mocking
of Christ (who wears a robe and carries a sceptre); doubting Thomas
with another figure (perhaps St. John the Evangelist, who recorded the
story); Christ giving the keys of heaven to St. Peter and a book to St.
Paul; and Moses praying with Aaron and Hur.
In the central Crucifixion scene on the western face, Christ is
depicted as clothed and without pain (a typical Irish image). He is
flanked by two soldiers, the spearbearer who pierces his left side and
another holding a cane with a cup, apparently representing the
spongebearer. Between the soldiers and Christ's knees are two heads,
perhaps indicating the two thieves. The bird under Christ's feet may
represent the phoenix, a symbol of resurrection.
On the right arm of the cross is a depiction of the Resurrection of
Christ, with guards kneeling on each side of the tomb and three angels
behind them holding a small figure representing the soul. The cross is
capped with a stone replica of a gabled-roof church.
At the bottom of the western face, accompanied by two cats, is an
inscription translated as, "A prayer for Muiredach for whom (or by whom)
the cross was made."
