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Fethard, Co. Tipperary
Location: The Abbey ruins are at the east end of Fethard - marked Augustinian Friary. About four feet
above the ground on the north face of a wall adjacent to the east wall of the Friary, is this tall thin sheela.
She is mounted close to the door of the vicarage and used to be surrounded by ivy which has been cleared from
the wall entirely, making her quite easy to spot as you round the corner of the church.
Dimensions: 50 cm high by 20 cm wide.
Features: This sheela has a large head in proportion to her emaciated body. The rounded triangular-shaped
head sports huge jug-handle ears which are a bit assymetrical, a regular nose, large close-set eyes and a rather
pursed expression to her mouth. There is noticeable scarring on her forehead, and an abundance of line scars on
both sides of her face from cheek to chin. The high placement of her small mouth and the excess of scarring almost
resembles a beard. The head "floats" above the clearly ribbed torso. Thin arms stretch down, her right arm, reaches
to cover her genital area and her left arm (with nicely carved hand) lays across her abdomen. She stands on
widely splayed spindly legs with more possible scarring. No feet are apparent.
Comments: This sheela is obviously not original to this wall. The figure is far too neatly arched and, when
viewed from the side, the stone she is carved on has a rolled edging.
Other Items of Interest: Not far away on one of the town walls is another sheela.
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