A new exhibition entitled "The Irish High Cross" was opened at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin yesterday by Dr Peter Harbison of the Royal Irish Academy
Six plaster cast high crosses are currently on display at the museum at Collins Barracks, along with a selection of Irish early Christian treasures.
The crosses are reproductions of those originally found in Tipperary, Louth, Clare and Sligo ranging from the ninth to the 12th centuries.
The selection, which features an impressive 6.5metre-high cross from Monasterboice, Co Louth as its centrepiece, will give visitors an opportunity to examine how biblical scenes were depicted on high crosses.
The early Christian church used these scenes to teach biblical stories to a largely illiterate public. As such, high crosses are among the greatest examples of how powerful religious communities supported and encouraged art in early Christian Ireland.
In recent years a selection of the high cross casts was displayed at Nagoya, Japan.
The director of the museum, Dr Patrick Wallace, said: "I have wanted to share this experience with the Irish public since I witnessed its magic presence at Expo Japan."