What are the high crosses at Moone and Castledermot?
The south of the county holds two of Ireland's finest early Christian sites. At Moone, in the ruins of an abbey founded under St Colmcille, stands a granite high cross of the 8th century, about 5.3 metres tall and among the best preserved in the country: its panels show the Twelve Apostles, Daniel in the lions' den and the loaves and fishes, carved in a plain style you can read like a picture book. Castledermot, a few miles north, has two granite crosses, a 20 metre round tower with its doorway at ground level, and a fine Romanesque doorway, all in a working graveyard. Both sites are free, outdoors and quiet.
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