The Turoe Stone

Carved about 150-250 BCE, the Celtic Iron Age sculpture known as the Turoe Stone, ("Turoe" derives from "Cloch an Tuair Rua" meaning "The Stone of the Red Pasture") now stands in the village of Bullaun near Loughrea, County Galway, in the west of Ireland. This white phallus-shaped stone, 5 feet 6 inches in height (1.68m), is sculpted and decorated in the La Tène Celtic art style (itself strongly influenced by Etruscan and Greek art) and is considered to be one of the most important examples of early Irish sculpture. Its complex decorative patterns seem to be part of a Celtic artistic tradition that was earlier responsible for the carvings at Newgrange, and later responsible for the High Cross sculptures of the Irish Medieval Christian era, under the influence of missionaries and monasteries after the collapse of Rome.

Turoe Stone, Showing Low Relief
Curvilinear La Tene Designs.

The Turoe Stone is carved from granite and covered with intricate La Tène designs produced in low relief to a depth of about 1 inch. The abstract artwork consists of a continuous series of curved lines, including circles, concentric spirals and other curvilinear motifs such as trumpet-ends and triskeles. A number of key-designs are also visible.

During the mid-nineteenth century, the stone sculpture was moved from its original position at a local Iron Age ring-fort known as the Rath of Feerwore, ("Rath" meaning fortified farmstead, "Fír Mhór" meaning great men). The precise function of the Turoe Stone at this Iron Age fort remains unknown, but the amount of craftmanship and artistic skill lavished upon the sculpture suggests that it possessed enormous religious, ceremonial or ritualistic significance. Some Iron Age historians believe that the word Red in the place name "Turoe" indicates its use as a place of human or animal sacrifice, while other archeologists believe the particular La Tène artistry indicates that the stone was originally carved in France by Celtic sculptors and later moved to Ireland. Even so, the stone marks an important step in the history of Irish art, exemplifying the creative talents of La Tène style Celtic craftsmen.

Several other Iron Age sculptures are similar to the Turoe Stone: the egg-shaped Castlestrange Stone, in County Roscommon, (other pagan Celtic stones sculpted in the La Tène style include the Killycluggin Stone in County Cavan, the Mullaghmast Stone in County Kildare, and the Derrykeighan Stone in County Antrim) and the Navel Stone at Delphi, in Greece.

• For more about the history of Irish public sculpture, see: Visual Arts in Ireland.
• For information about Irish sculptors, see: Visual Arts in Cork.

• How to Update This Mini Review of Turoe Stone.