The centrepiece is a high cross flanked by two smaller stone sculptures, each standing about 0.8 metres tall and carved on all four sides with a fascinating mix of Christian and secular imagery. These monuments, designated as National Monument number 271, were relocated from their original position to protect them from centuries of weathering; their former location, marked as ‘Cross’ on 19th and early 20th century Ordnance Survey maps, can still be traced nearby.

The southern stone sculpture presents a remarkable gallery of carved figures that blend religious symbolism with everyday life in early medieval Ireland. Its north face depicts an unusual animal-headed figure holding what appears to be two discs and a hammer, whilst the east face shows an ecclesiastical figure with crossed arms, clutching a bell and book with a crozier positioned horizontally below. The west face features a human face near the pillar’s top, and perhaps most strikingly, the south face displays a human head emerging from a fish’s mouth; likely a reference to the biblical story of Jonah.

Its northern companion is equally rich in carved detail, with the south face bearing a double pelta design, a common Celtic decorative motif. The east face shows a human figure armed with a small shield and sword, whilst the north face combines fish and bird imagery. Most delightfully, the west face depicts a figure playing a harp, offering a rare glimpse of musical culture in early Irish Christianity. Today, both pillars and the cross stand on a modern plinth that incorporates a large flat-topped boulder measuring 1.5 by 1.3 metres, with the cross set into a rectangular socket cut into this stone. Together with the surrounding 18th century Church of Ireland church and modern graveyard, these sculptures continue to mark Carndonagh as a place of enduring spiritual significance.