1990:035 - GARRISTOWN CHURCH, Garristown, Dublin

While carrying out a survey on behalf of the Dublin Archaeological Society of medieval churches in North Dublin, the writer and Henry Wheeler discovered fragments of effigy tombs, reused as gravemarkers, in the graveyard of Garristown Church. South-east of the church a large sink-, or slop-stone, which would normally be associated with a castle, was also re-used as a gravemarker.

Following negotiations with the Co. Council and the Office of Public Works, it was agreed that the slabs should be brought into safe-keeping, ultimately to be housed by the Office of Public Works in a Visitor centre in the National Monument at Lusk, along with the 16th-century effigy tomb of Sir Christopher Barnewall and his wife, Marion Sharl. The slop-stone was left in situ. The writer undertook to supervise the lifting of the slabs.

Slab A - female effigy fragment
Slab A measures 1.18m long by 1m wide and consists of the lower half (below the waist) of a female figure. Her heavy woollen skirt falls in regular parallel folds to her feet. The front is raised to reveal a smock underneath. Her feet rest on a tasseled cushion. The skirt measures 0.39m wide at the top and 0.7m at the bottom. There is a raised band, c. 100 mm wide, along the right margin of the slab, but there is no sign of an inscription on it. The lower left corner of the slab is broken away.

Slab B- side slab of a tomb chest
Slab B, which is broken at one end, measures 1.6m long by 0.64m wide. There is a circular reserve carved in the slab, within which a shield is upheld by two kneeling figures and an angel at the top. The shield is blank. The slab in its complete form would have been approximately 2m long.

Slab C- corner fragment from effigy slab
This small fragment has a raised band along the edge, similar to the effigy slab (slab A) and most likely formed part of that slab.

Slab D- comer fragment from effigy slab
This is the top left corner of an effigy slab, probably slab A. It measures approximately 0.6m long by 0.3m wide. There is a raised band, approximately 100mm wide, around the edge of the slab. There is an angel, similar to the angel above the shield in slab B, beside a tasseled cushion.

There is a great similarity in the design of the skirt and underskirt on the Garristown effigy slab (slab A) to the effigy tomb of Maud Plunket at Malahide of c. 1440, Margaret Jenico and Roland FitzEustace in St Audoen's, 1482, and Anne Plunket and Christopher St Lawrence, in Howth of c. 1462. Tasseled head-cushions are also present at St Audoen's, Howth and Malahide, although at the latter the lady's head rests on two cushions. The designs on the side panels of the Malahide tomb chest are also very similar to the Garristown side panel (slab B). These comparisons help to place the Garristown slabs in the 15th-century Pale School of figure sculpture.

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