A Christian High Cross with a Pagan past 

The Cooley Cross is located just outside the perimeter walls of an ancient graveyard near Moville. This is an early example of a High Cross and dates to the 8th century AD. The cross stands 10 feet high, is plain, and has an odd-looking hole on its top. This hole is thought to have contained a peg serving as a ‘gnomon’ for a rudimentary sundial and so the vertical shadow indicated the hour of noon. There is a cross with a similar hole on the greater Aran Island where the vertical shadow line is marked. At the base is a large flat stone containing a crude representation of a human foot, traditionally ascribed to St. Patrick himself. These types of hole-stones date back to pagan times and are thought to be used during marriages when couples joined hands when making vows. There is also a small stone structure in the graveyard known locally as ‘The Skull House’. This is believed to be the resting place of Moville’s local Saint Finian. There are lots of interesting artifacts lying amongst the graves including headstones dating back 300 years, broken pieces of early wheeled crosses, and grinding stones.