Survey Data
Reg No
20841074
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Monument
In Use As
Monument
Date
1900 - 1905
Coordinates
112246, 33648
Date Recorded
26/06/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding square-plan monument, erected 1904, comprising stepped cut limestone plinth, carved limestone pedestal with recessed chamfered panels and incised lettering to all faces, some in Gaelic script. Carved pulvinated limestone capital above pedestal supporting sculpted limestone female figure with high cross, shamrock wreath and crown attributes.
Appraisal
A finely carved and detailed stone monument occupying a prominent site within Skibbereen town. The sculptural figure above the pedestal, by John Maguire (d. 1909) of Golden Villa, Cork, appears to be a female personification of Ireland clutching shamrock and a high cross. Unveiled by prominent founder of the Phoenix National and Literary Society, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, in 1904 and dedicated to the patriots who died for Ireland, this monument serves as a reminder of Irish pre-Independence history in the early twentieth century.