Ahenny () is a small village and townland in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is notable for its ancient Irish

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

es. 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 and

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

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. 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,

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 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 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 from

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, and the boundary between County Tipperary and County Kilkenny. It also lies at the intersection of three ecclesiastic dioceses: Ossory, Waterford and Cashel.

Ahenny high crosses

The Ossory group of

es are amongst the earliest examples of Celtic high crosses to be found in Ireland, with those in west Ossory considered the oldest. The west Ossory group of

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

es includes Ahenny and Kilkieran – two kilometres south-east., Eight kilometres further south is Tibberaghny. Killamery High Cross eight kilometres north of Ahenny completes this close group: although Kilree High Cross sixteen miles north-east of Ahenny is often included.

Cross iconography

The Ahenny high crosses (

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

#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