The latest issue of the online magazine Irish Insight has an interesting article by Shae Clancy on the monuments called Sheela-Na-Gigs. Sheela-Na-Gigs are carvings peculiar to Ireland, and although difficult to date properly, are at least pre-Norman (before 11th century AD). Sheela-Na-Gigs are graphic representations of naked women flaunting their genital regions, and their precise function is presently unknown, although people speculate they are meant to ward off demons, or represent fertillity goddesses associated with the early Christian church or Celtic religion. Many of them are carved on church edifices of the period.
- Irish Insight | Sheela-Na-Gigs, by Shae Clancy.
- Sheela-na-Gigs, a collection of images from About's Alternate Religions guide, Jennifer Emick
- For more, see Barbara Freitag's fascinating book on Sheela Na-Gigs, which includes a catalog of the sculptures and considerable detail about the possible role of these unusual carvings during their construction, and in the mid-19th century when scholars began to pay attention to them.
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