Cllr left 'aghast' at damage to Monasterboice High Cross

A councillor has said he was left "aghast" at damage to a high cross located in the Monasterboice Monastic Site. 

Independent councillor for Dundalk/Carlingford Ciarán Fisher told the March meeting of Louth County Council that Muirdeach's Cross has been left "weather-beaten" and questioned how the local authority could preserve it. 

"Every time I visit it I’m aghast at how much more damage has been done to it and indeed the Monastery itself," he said. 

Cllr Fisher described Muirdeach's Cross as "the best example of a high cross that we have in the country" and suggested Louth County Council could take measures to protect the monument, including using the Community Monuments Fund. 

"Every time I visit it it looks even more weather-beaten. I’m unsure of ownership of it, I’d like to think of the State given its national importance and indeed international importance as the best example of a high cross.

How do we go about preserving a monument like that? I'm not sure who to approach about putting in an application to get it maybe roped off or cordoned off," he said. 

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A spokesperson for Louth County Council told Cllr Fisher that the matter would be referred to the local authority's heritage officer. 

Muirdeach's Cross, which stands at 5.5m tall shows carvings of both the Old and New Testaments is estimated to have been sculpted in the 9th or 10th Century. 

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.