Cooey na Gall Monument, Dungiven Priory, Priory Lane, Dungiven, Londonderry, BT47 4PF

The Cooey na Gall Monument is an outstanding example of late 14th or 15th century sculpture, unique in Northern Ireland for its quality and design. It stands as both a significant work of medieval art and a historical memorial to an important clan in northwest Ulster.

The monument consists of a stone tomb niche positioned against the south wall of the chancel of the ruined Augustinian Priory at Dungiven. The tomb is well preserved and comprises a table memorial topped with a recumbent figure lying flat on its back, portrayed as a warrior chieftain in full regalia. The figure wears pleated dress down to the knees with shoulder protection and protective headgear. The feet and lower limbs are positioned together with the soles resting against a raised block. The arms lie mostly at the sides, though one arm crosses the body to grasp a sword complete with decorative handle and scabbard.

A running bead or nail head moulding edges the flat table top. Below this sits a band of blank arcading comprising six cusped panels, each bound by raised moulding. The corners feature engaged shafts with banding. Within each panel stands an erect figure dressed like the recumbent figure, each bearing a sheathed sword and wearing headgear topped with plumage or a ball ornament.

Above the table sits a recess surmounted by a moulded cusped curved arch. This springs from a moulded framing or architrave forming a pointed arch above. The tympanum displays delicate tracery of exceptional quality, featuring circles containing "comma" or mouchette forms arranged in pairs and triples, along with two quatrefoils. A hood moulding frames the entire composition. This represents an impressive piece of sculpted stonework, subtle in design and superior to comparable tomb niches elsewhere in Ireland, with only the flame tracery at Kilconnell Friary offering comparable merit.

The monument commemorates an O'Cahan chief who flourished in the 14th century and reportedly died around 1385. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland record that the space before the tomb remained exclusively used as the burial place for immediate descendants of the chief branch of the O'Kane family. Some scholars attribute the work to Scottish craftsmen.

The tomb niche is partially recessed into the south wall of the chancel and remains in reasonable condition of preservation. The monument forms part of the scheduled monument Dungiven Priory (Scheduled Monument No. Ldy 31.15), now in State Care. It is sheltered within the priory chancel by temporary protective roofing, with the chancel arch partitioned off and locked. Glazed observation panels in the partition allow viewing of the monument.