Inistiogue No. 2 / Inistioge / Kells

This object is indexed in the Archaeological Survey of Ireland under SMR No. KK032-017007- Described in R. Langrishe (1896: 374-375), a fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, who was charged with the move of this font to the church of Inistiogue. Langrishe writes that the "fine twelfth-century font of Somersetshire stone" standing in the vestibule of the church at Inistiogue has a curious history: "Until about thirty years ago [i.e., ca. 1866], it lay in the old and disused parish church of Kells, in this county [i.e., Co. Kilkenny], when at the instance of the late Rev. James Graves, the learned founder of our Society [the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland], it was presented by the then Rector of Kells, the late Rev. Christopher Darby, M.A., to the Cathedral of St. Canice, Kilkenny. Only one side of the bowl had any carving on it; the others had been left plain, as if the font had been intended to stand close into an angle of the church, or some other reason had caused it to be left unfinished. The Rev. James Graves, when stone-carvers were engaged at the restoration of the cathedral, got one of them to carve the other three sides with the design now thereon. The font was then placed in the north chapel of the cathedral choir, on the supposition that it would be more convenient to baptize children there than at the ancient font which stands in the nave [cf. Index entry for Inistiogue No. 3]. There had been a much smaller, tureen-shaped font of black marble in the cathedral choir when that portion only was used for devine service previous to the restoration; this, being thought unworthy of such a position, was procured by Mr. Graves, and placed in his own church at Inisnag. The Kells font having been found to be superfluous, as well as anomalous in its position in St. Canice's Cathedral, it was suggested to the vestry to present it to the late Rt. Hon. W.F.F. Tighe for Inistiogue church, as he had been a munificent benefactor of the cathedral; this suggestion having been cordially agreed to, the author of this Paper [i.e., R. Langrishe] had the pleasure of carrying it out." According to Pike (1989: 13), this font was found in nearby Kells, Co. Kilkenny, and may have come originally from the Augustinian Priory of St Mary; it was given to St Canice's [the Cathedral of St. Canice at Kilkenny], who sent it to Inistiogue. Pike further informs that the font is thought to be of Dundry stone from Bristol [cf. supra], and describes the ornamentation as consisting of a circle intersected with fleur-de-lis in each of three basin sides, the fourth side reconstructed in the 19th century [cf. supra regarding the re-carving of three of the sides]. There is thick rope motif at top and bottom of the cylindrical base that rests on a square plinth. The inside of the basin is lined with lead and has a central drain.
A set of digital photographs of this font taken 16 October 2024 by A.-K.D. may be seen in Wikipedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kells_baptismal_font,_Inistioge] [accessed 26 July 2025]the caption reads: "This baptismal font came originally from St Kieran's Church in Kells with only one face carved. Under the guidance of James Graves, antiquarian, it was moved to St Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny where he had the other three faces carved. It was then moved to St Mary's Church in Inistioge."
A 3-D model of this font made by b-unicycling may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/inistioge-kells-font-f951e1b326654698953dc3ec1cc42bc8] [accessed 23 July 2025]; the caption reads: "This baptismal font originally stood in Kells in what was then St Kieran’s Church (Anglican) and was moved to St Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny in the 19th century and from there to Inistioge in around 1969. It stands in the bell tower of St. Mary’s Church (Church of Ireland). The rope moulding and carvings on at least three of the faces are not original and were added around the 1960s under Rev. James Graves’, antiquarian, guidance. Shockingly, one may add. The combination of “Celtic” interlacing and fleurs-de-lys look indeed somewhat bastardized." It guives the reference code "SMR no: KK032-017007-"