Ahenny () is a small village and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is notable for its ancient Irish

high cross A high cross or standing cross (, , ) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. Th ...

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 ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

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 () is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, placed on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of the town of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3100 BC, makin ...

Knowth Knowth (; ) is a prehistoric tomb overlooking the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland. It comprises a large passage tomb surrounded by 17 smaller tombs, built during the Neolithic era around 3200 BC. It contains the largest assemblage of megali ...

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 ( , "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, County Tipperary, Fethard, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir. The mountain ...

Hill, again with a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

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 ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

from

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

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

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

s: Ossory, Waterford and Cashel.

Ahenny high crosses

The Ossory group of

es are amongst the earliest (8th/9th century) 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 upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

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 sp ...

#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. Nearby in County Kilkenny are the Kilkieran High Crosses.

References

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