Romanesque dragon

 

Romanesque corbel

Christy Cunniffe

This unique carved dragonesque corbel was discovered about 20 years ago in Boynaugh graveyard near Glenamaddy. It consists of a sandstone corbel one of four that originally adorned the four corners of the church. Their original purpose was as a support to the gable rafters. It is an important piece of twelfth-century sculpture as it adds one more church to the corpus of Romanesque buildings in Co. Galway. It is currently preserved in the community and requires a more permanent home. Corbels with dragonesque decoration are also evident on Temple Cronan oratory in north Clare.