Tully Lough Cross

Tully Lough Cross
Upper part of the cross
Material	Oak, bronze, gold, glass, amber
Size	Height: 127 cm (50 in) Width: 43.8 cm (17.2 in)
Created	8th or 9th century[1]
Discovered	July 1986 Tully Lough, County Roscommon
Present location	National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin

The Tully Lough Cross is an 8th- or 9th-century Irish altar or processional cross, discovered by divers in 1986 at the bottom of Tully Lough, County Roscommon. Although its origin is unknown, it may be associated with a church in Kilmore, County Cavan. It is made from a wooden core covered with bronze sheets and contains spirals derived from the Iron Age Celtic Ultimate La Tène style. Its dating is based on its use of amber and style of ornamentation.

When found, the Tully Lough Cross had been broken into pieces, with its individual remains in very poor condition. In the late 1980s, in a project overseen by the archaeologist Eamonn P. Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland (NMI), it was extensively repaired, and a number of lost metal parts were replaced, with a reconstruction based on a representation of similar crosses from contemporary Irish manuscript illustrations and high crosses.^[2]

The divers failed to report the finding of this highly important object of national heritage to the Irish government, as required by law. One of them was later prosecuted for trying to sell it to a number of American museums, including the Getty in California at an offer price of $1.75m. It was acquired by the NMI, Kildare Street, Dublin, in 1990 and is on permanent display in the museum's Treasury room.^[3]