St Tola's Cross

Overview

St Tola’s Cross – the White Cross of Tola – stands on a low mound in a field at Dysert O’Dea, about 100 m east of the ruined Romanesque church, near an old road running towards the lake. It is a limestone high cross of the 12th century, and its two big draws are the figure of Christ carved almost in the round on the east face and the survival of two dated inscriptions on its base. Reckon on 12 feet (3.66 m) to the top of the cap if you count the base; the cross itself stands about 3.3 m. The site is unguided, free and open at any hour.

One practical steer before you set off: it is easier to reach the cross from the lane serving Dysert O’Dea Castle than to cross the field from the church.

A cross that keeps getting put back up

The monastery at Dysert O’Dea was founded as a hermitage in the 8th century by St Tola, a bishop of Clonard who died between 733 and 737. The wooden church is long gone; the stone cross came later, in the 12th century, the same period as the church and round tower here.

It has been knocked down and re-erected more than once. Cromwellian soldiers toppled it in the 17th century, and an inscription on the east face of the base records its repair and re-erection in 1683 by Michael O’Dea, son of Connor Crone O’Dea. A second inscription, on the south face, records a further re-erection in 1871 by Francis Hutcheson Synge. In 1960 it came apart again, for a happier reason: it travelled to Barcelona for an exhibition of Irish art, then came home and went back up.

The field itself saw one of the more consequential Irish battles of the 14th century. At the Battle of Dysert O’Dea in 1318, the O’Briens destroyed a Norman army under Richard de Clare, checking English expansion into Clare for two hundred years.

The carvings

The cross rests on a base built of several blocks, cut with key patterns on the north and south sides and corner mouldings ending in snake-knots; above it the cross proper is made up of shaft, head and a separate cap.

• East face – the dominant panel: a high-relief Christ, arms out, in a wide-sleeved robe, with a bishop below holding a spiral-headed crozier, usually taken to be St Tola himself.
• South face – a figure grasping a snake-knot in each hand, with the 1871 inscription cut into the lower part.
• West face – two heads survive; the rest has broken away. The head of the cross carries five raised bosses forming a small cross among foliage and spirals.
• Base panels – four robed figures with tau-shaped staffs, perhaps marking out the sacred boundary, or termon, of the monastery; a man between two interlaced beasts, often read as Daniel in the lions’ den; and a worn scene of Adam and Eve.

Antiquarians disagreed over some of the detail – whether one of the figures’ heads was ever a separate, movable stone, for instance – and the honest answer is that it can no longer be confirmed either way.

The toothache cure

For generations the top of the cross was regarded as an infallible cure for toothache, and sufferers would reach up to it in hope of relief. The custom faded once a restoration set the head too high to touch. St Tola himself is still invoked against toothache, which is presumably where the whole business began.

Walking and nearby

The cross is one stop on the small heritage circuit around Dysert O’Dea, which links it to the ruined church, the 12th-century round tower and Dysert O’Dea Castle, a restored 15th-century tower house. The castle museum is the practical hub: it has a café, toilets and a trail map, and charges €5 to go in (the cross, church and tower outside are free). Give the loop an hour or so on foot.

Further afield in north Clare:

• Corofin – the nearest village, about 2 km, for pubs and lunch.
• Ennis – roughly 9 km south, the county town.
• Burren Smokehouse and Burren College of Art – both a drive north into the Burren proper, if you are making a day of it.

Practical information

Getting there

Dysert O’Dea is signposted off the R476 Ennis–Corofin road; from Ennis, head about 5 km northwest and follow signs for ‘Dysert O’Dea – Church, Round Tower & High Cross’ onto the minor road. There is no bus to the site itself – the nearest services stop in Corofin and Ennis – so a car is by far the easiest way.

Visiting tips

• Light – early morning or late afternoon rakes across the east face and brings out the relief; midday sun flattens it.
• Underfoot – the field can be uneven and muddy after rain, so wear sturdy shoes, and the cross is exposed, so pack a windproof layer.
• Respect the monument – it is a protected National Monument; do not climb on it or handle the carvings.

Arrive early or late for the raking light, then walk the loop to the castle before heading into Corofin for lunch.