The following is a complete list of the nine surviving Early Medieval Irish Crucifixion plaques, although many more would have been produced. Eight are extant and one is known from a 19th-century watercolour reproduction. Four have an established provenance; the others are grouped based on figurative similarities to these known examples. It may be that the examples in each group were produced by separate workshops.
Crucifixion plaques are a rare example of figurative in early Irish art. Their iconography and form seems to be influenced by The earlier illuminated manuscripts and stone sculpture.Johnson (1998), p. 95 The Rinnegan Plaque is dated to c. 700 AD and is in height, making it much larger and pre-dating the other examples by over three centuries, and is the finest of the group. Based on their artistic style and iconography, archaeologists date the other plaques to within the late 10th and early 12th centuries. The other plaques are square-shaped and of a similar size (c. x ), and made of cast bronze or copper alloy.Johnson (1998), p. 96 They are all made using openwork with the exception of the Lismore Plaque.
The plaques In 1980, the archaeologist Peter Harbison identified the then-known six plaques as a distinct type. He divided them into the Clonmacnoise (in County Offaly and Dungannon, County Tyrone groups, based on their find-spots, iconography and form, including the pose of the figures and decoration of the borders.Murray (2014), p. 286 Harbison believes that, except for the c. 700 AD Rinnegan plaque, they all dated to c. 1100 AD.Harbison (1980), pp. 24–38
Since Harbison's publication, the Dungannon Plaque is now localised to Tynan, County Armagh, near the find-spot of a recently found plaque from Anketell, County Monaghan, while another example is now thought to originate from Lismore, County Waterford. Based on these findings, the archaeologist Griffin Murray further divided the plaques into the "Tynan", "Clonmacnoise", "Klllalon" (or "Kells") groups and "others" (i.e. those unlocalised either by find-spot or style and the very early and geographically distinct Rinnegan Plaque).Murray (2014), pp. 287–289
WorkTitle Date Find spot Material Height Harbison number Murray Grouping Current locationRinnegan Crucifixion Plaquec. 700ADÓ Floinn; Wallace (2002), p. 212Rinnagan, near Athlone, County Westmeath Bronze n/a n/a National Museum of Ireland (NMI), DublinClonmacnoise Crucifixion Plaque 10th centuryMoss (2014), p. 272Clonmacnoise monastery, County Offaly Bronze, gilt openwork, repousséJohnson (1998), p. 982Harbison (1980), pp. 26–29Clonmacnoise NMILismore Crucifixion Plaque c. 1090—1113Murray (2014), pp. 300–301Lismore, County Waterford brass 4Harbison (1980), pp. 29–30 Killalon NMITynan Crucifixion Plaquec. 1100Hamlin; Haworth (1982), pp. 112, 115Tynan, County ArmaghBronzeJohnson (1998), p. 101TynanMurray, p. 292 NMIAnketell Crucifixion Plaquec. 1110Murray (2014), p. 292Emyvale, County Monaghan gunmetal 5Harbison (1980), pp. 30–31 Tynan NMIKillaloe Crucifixion Plaque11th centuryHarbison (1980), p. 28Killaloe, County Clare leaded gunmetal 3Harbison (1980), pp. 28–29 Killalon NMIAcademy Crucifixion Plaque ? UnlocalisedMurray (2014), pp. 297, 308–309 brass Killalon NMIKells Crucifixion Plaque11th or 12th centuryKells, County MeathbrassMurray (2014), p. 301 6Harbison (1980), p. 32KillalonMurray, pp 295–296British Museum, London"Plaque, 1983,0701.1 ". British Museum. Retrieved 4 May 2025 Mayo Crucifixion Plaque ? County Mayo ? ?Harbison (1980), p. 24 1Harbison (1980), pp. 26–27 Clonmacnoise LostHarbison (1980), pp. 24, 34
References
Sources
Bourke, Cormac. "The Chronology of Irish Crucifixion Plaques". In: Higgitt, John (ed.). The Age of Migrating Ideas: Early Medieval Art in Northern Britain and Ireland. Sutton Publishing, 1993. Hamlin, Ann; Haworth, R. G. "A Crucifixion Plaque Reprovenanced". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, volume 112, 1982. Harbison, Peter. "The Bronze Crucifixion Plaque said to be from St John's (Rinnegan), near Athlone". ̄Journal of Irish Archaeology volume 11, 1984. Harbison, Peter. The Crucifixion in Irish Art. Dublin: Columba Press, 2000. Harbison, Peter. "A lost crucifixion plaque of Clonmacnoise type found in County Mayo". ̄In: Murtagh, Harman. Irish Midland Studies: Essays in Commemoration of N.W. English. Athlone: Journal of the Old Athlone Society, 1980. Herren, Michael; Brown, Shirley Ann. Christ in Celtic Christianity: Britain and Ireland from the Fifth to the Tenth Century. Boydell Press, 2012. de Paor, Máire. "An Openwork Crucifixion Plaque from Clonmacnoise". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, volume 84, no. 1, 1954. Johnson, Ruth. "Irish Crucifixion Plaques: Viking Age or Romanesque?". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, volume 128, 1998. MacDermott, Máire. "An Openwork Crucifixion Plaque from Clonmacnoise". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, volume 84, No. 1, 1954. Moss, Rachel. Medieval c. 400—c. 1600. "Art and Architecture of Ireland" series. London: Yale University Press, 2014. Murray, Griffin. "Irish crucifixion plaques: a reassessment. In: Mullins, Juliet; Ni Ghradaigh, Jenifer (eds): Envisioning Christ on the Cross: Ireland and the Early Medieval West. Dublin: eds J. Mullins, J. Ní Ghrádaigh and R. Hawtree, 2014. Murray, Griffin. "The provenance of an Irish Crucifixion plaque ". Archaeology Ireland, volume 26, number 4, issue 102, 2012
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