The Carrigallen Shoe
The Carrigallen Shoe is an early medieval shoe found in Co. Leitrim, on display in the National Museum in Dublin. A decorated leather shoe found in a bog in Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim. Dated to the early middle ages, now housed at the National Museum of Ireland
In Wilde’s Catalogue of the Antiquities of Animal Materials and Bronze in the Museum of the Royal Academy published in 1861, it is stated that the shoe was given to Dean Dawson, who was Rector of Carrigallen from November 4th 1809 until he died on September 6th 1866, aged 85. He is buried in Christchurch Cathedral.
The shoe is on permanent display in the exhibition entitled Viking Age, Ireland, which opened in June 1995. It is one of the finest examples of its type. The decoration on the shoe enabled it to be dated to the early Christian period, perhaps the ninth or tenth century.