Ahenny () is a small village and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is notable for its ancient Irish high crosses. Close to the village is the early Christian foundation of Kilclispeen monastery and in the adjoining graveyard stand two celebrated Irish High Crosses: the Ahenny High Crosses.

History

Ahenny is situated close to the border dividing counties

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

and Kilkenny and nestles on the slopes of Carrigadoon Hill overlooking the valley of the river Lingaun. Scattered remnants of a once thriving slate industry spanning the Tipperary-Kilkenny border-lands, act as reminders of modern Ahenny's roots. A number of megalithic tombs dot the landscape surrounding Ahenny, which was located in the ancient

Kingdom of Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...

. Two kilometres east on Killmacoliver Hill is the Baunfree megalithic tomb, while two kilometres north, the passage tomb of Knockroe (the Coshel) sits on a hill summit. The Knockroe passage tomb shares similarities with

Newgrange Newgrange ( ga, Sí an Bhrú) is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 B ...

Knowth Knowth (; ga, Cnóbha) is a Neolithic passage grave and an ancient monument of the World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne located 8.4 km west of Drogheda in Ireland's valley of the River Boyne. It is the largest passage grave of the Brú ...

and

Loughcrew Loughcrew or Lough Crew () is an area of historical importance near Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland. It is home to a group of ancient tombs from the 4th millennium BC, some decorated with rare megalithic art, which sit on top of a range of hil ...

and is one of the most decorated tombs outside of the Boyne valley group. Ten kilometres to the west is

Slievenamon Slievenamon or Slievenaman ( ga, Sliabh na mBan , "mountain of the women") is a mountain with a height of in County Tipperary, Ireland. It rises from a plain that includes the towns of Fethard, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir. The mountain is ste ...

Hill, again with a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

summit cairn. The river Lingaun rises on Slievenamon and flows east for some ten kilometres before turning south to flow through a valley between Carrigadoon and Kilmacoliver hills. This bend occurs some six kilometres north of Ahenny and it marks the boundary of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

from Munster, and the boundary between County Tipperary and County Kilkenny. It also lies at the intersection of three ecclesiastic

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

, Waterford and Cashel.

Ahenny high crosses

The

group of high crosses are amongst the earliest examples of Celtic high crosses to be found in Ireland, with those in west

considered the oldest. The west Ossory group of Celtic crosses includes Ahenny and Kilkieran – two kilometres south-east., Eight kilometres further south is Tibberaghny.

Killamery High Cross Killamery Cross is a 9th-century high cross and National Monument in Killamery, County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the north of Killamery graveyard. History A monastery was established at Killamery by St Gobhan, a disciple of Sain ...

eight kilometres north of Ahenny completes this close group: although

Kilree Kilree is a former Christian monastery and National Monument located in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Location Kilree is located 2.4 km (1 mile) south of Kells, County Kilkenny. History The monastery at Kilree was supposedly founded in t ...

High Cross sixteen miles north-east of Ahenny is often included.

Cross iconography

The Ahenny high crosses ( National Monument #124) are early examples of Irish high crosses which still bear resemblance to their wooden predecessors. Celtic knotwork and bosses imitate in stone what a carved wooden cross would have looked like. One of the Ahenny crosses also bears a fine image of an Irish chariot, which along with other high crosses, was used as the main inspiration of a modern reconstruction.

References

{{County Tipperary, state=collapsed Townlands of County Tipperary Towns and villages in County Tipperary High crosses in the Republic of Ireland