Association of Celtic Students

The landscape of Ireland is dotted with numerous reminders of the country’s medieval history. The finest examples of the skilled craftsmanship of medieval Irish artists are the high crosses created between the eighth and tenth centuries, associated with ecclesiastical sites of particular importance at the time, and displaying an extensive repertoire of finely carved decoration on stone. These iconic monuments are a familiar sight across the Irish landscape, marking the importance of ancient sites from the early Middle Ages to present times. Designed to showcase intricate carvings featuring decorative motifs and figural scenes from Scripture, the high crosses of Ireland have been the subject of extensive study. The richness of the high crosses’ iconographic motifs reflects the extent of the religious and cultural training of artists and patrons in early medieval Ireland. Market Cross, Kells, Co. Meath. Photograph taken by the author. In early Ireland, the creation of any art object ...

In the 1600s and 1700s, thousands left Cymru in search of a better life. Many landed in Pennsylvania, on the east coast of what is today the United States. According to Cymru Pennsylvania , this state retains the distinction of the highest Welsh-American population in the country still today, with about 150,000 claiming Welsh identity. Their early ancestors left their traces in the places they named: Bala Cynwyd, Berwyn, Lower and Upper Gwynedd, Narberth, North Wales, and Radnor.  Later immigration, however, moved further into the continental heartland. By the 1800s, Ohio was one of the primary destinations for new arrivals. You find fewer Welsh place names, but they’ve left their trace.  Follow Ohio’s Welsh Scenic Byway from Gallipolis to Jackson, and you will come across their old churches—including the Welsh Congregationalist Church in Oak Hill that was home to a Welsh-speaking congregation for more than 100 years, up until the mid-twentieth century. Today, it’s the home o...