The things you learn when researching elsewhere...
While studying the background to Maen Achwyfan, I came across, St Cwyfan, the saint to which the rather fabulous Hiberno-Norse influenced cross is dedicated to. That led, as you might expect to similar circle headed crosses in North East Wales, at nearby Meliden and Dyserth...
And then the realisation that St Bridget's at Dyserth was orginally dedicated to St Cwyfan, and thus a connection to Maen Achwyfan is strengthen. Llangwyfan in Denbighshire would also seem to have been dedicated to Cwyfan.
But what's this? St Cwyfan is thought to have been Irish born and better known as St Kevin of Glendalough, a saint famous for being a hermit. And Dyserth of course is likely to have been the site of a hermitage, perhas one of the earliest Christian sites in North Wales. Incidentally, St Bridget was also Irish born, and so lends weight to the probability that the Vikings of Dublin and later the Wirral had a profound effect on Tegeingl.
What began as a journey to discover the depth of influence of the Norse out of Ireland on North East Wales, became something else...
