The world famous religious crosses at Monasterboice in County Louth have been added to a government list published this week of potential world heritage sites. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr John Gormley had established an expert Advisory Group to carry out a review and update the current Tentative List, which dates back to 1992.
The committee has recommended that five sites, including Monasterboice, which is listed as part of an Early Monastic Sites serial nomination, be included on the Tentative List.
In practice, a site cannot be nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage Site List unless it has first been placed on the Tentative List.
The other four sites included on the list are The Burren, Céide Fields and the north-west Mayo Boglands, Georgian Dublin and the Royal Sites of Ireland and the Western Stone Forts.
The Monastery in Monasterboice where the crosses are located was founded by Saint Buite, who died in 521 AD and contains two of the finest High Crosses in Ireland. Both of these Crosses are made of sandstone and date to around the 9th century.
The site also has a round tower, which is still in excellent condition.
The Cross of Muiredach, west face, gets its name from an inscription at the base of the west face, saying it was erected by Muiredach. The cross is around 5.2 meters high. The theme of the cross is Christ the King, Lord of the Earth. Also on this cross is a detail from the bottom of the west face showing Christ being mocked by Roman soldiers.
The Tall Cross or West Cross, which is the tallest high cross in Ireland, stands about 7 metres high. This cross is unusual in that the crucifixion scene, on the west face has a fully clothed figure of Christ. Because of its size, this cross has more iconography than any other cross in Ireland.
There is a third High Cross in the graveyard at Monasterboice, only part of which is the original and this cross is plain compared to Muiredachs and the West Cross, the only scriptural scene being the Crucifixion.
Ireland currently has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Brú na Boinne and Skeillig Michael.
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