Irish sculpture of the early tenth century and the work of the ‘Muiredach Master’: problems of identification and meaning

Is there an archaeology of lay people at early Irish monasteries ?

“…The metalworker responsible for, among other pieces, the early twelfth century Cross of Cong was Máel Ísu (« Servant/Devotee of Christ ») mac Bratáin Uí Echach, a name form often indicative of someone in religious orders. As Stalley has suggested in the case of some of their stone equivalents 83 , Murray is surely correct to argue that the often subtle iconography of these pieces, the purpose of which was to encourage ruminatio, may in some cases be a reflection of the religious training of these craftspeople and their firsthand experience of the religious life 84 .…”