This the _Annals of Inisfallen_ state, and the evidence is supported by inscriptions on the edges of the cross; one is in Latin, mentioning that it contained a piece of the ‘true Cross’; the others are in Irish, praying for Archbishop Muiredach O’Duffy of Tuam, who died in 1150; for King O’Conor; for Domnal O’Duffy, Archbishop of Connaught, and for the artificer Maelisa Mac Bratdan O’Echan. The cross seems to have been brought to Cong either by the Archbishop, who died there, or by King Roderick, who founded and endowed the abbey. The cross is 2½ feet high, the arms 1 foot 6¾ inches in width, and it is 1¾ inches thick. It ends in the grotesque head of an animal, and below this is a large ball, highly decorated, forming the head of the socket for the shaft when the cross was carried in procession. The frame is of oak, and over this are laid plates of copper richly covered with gold tracery. The edges are formed into a raised rim by a covering of silver, and divided into sections, which are marked by eighteen rounded projections set with stones or enamels, thirteen of which remain. A thin silver ribbon is set between the rims, upon which are the inscriptions in punched lettering. [Illustration: The Cross of Cong.] The ornaments generally consist of tracery and grotesque animals, fancifully combined, and similar in character to the decorations found upon crosses of stone of about the same period. A large crystal is set in the centre at the intersection of the arms and shaft, behind which the relic was set. The cross had been carefully preserved after the suppression of the monasteries, and was found in an oak chest in the village of Cong early in the last century. It was purchased by the late Professor Mac Cullagh for the sum of one hundred guineas, and presented to the Academy in 1839. * * * * * _Chalices._--Among the more singular relics in the Academy collection is a chalice of stone. Though formed of so rude a material, there is nothing in its general form or in the character of its decorations to warrant a supposition that it belongs to a very early period. Few chalices of an age prior to the twelfth century remain in Ireland; and any of a later date are not very remarkable as objects of antiquarian interest. Cups of stone appear to have been not uncommon among the Irish. An ancient vessel of this material, of a triangular form, was to be seen by the side of a holy well in Columbkill’s Glen, in the County of Clare; and another was found some years ago in the County of Meath, near the ruins of Ardmulchan Church. The most remarkable object of the chalice class known to have been found in Ireland is the famous _Ardagh Cup_, or _Chalice_, which figures amongst the choicest examples of metal-work preserved in the collection of the Academy. It, together with a plain bronze cup and some fine silver brooches, was discovered in 1868 in a rath situated not far from Ardagh, County Limerick.