Cantwell Fada, Medieval funerary effigy in Kilfane Church, Ireland

The Cantwell Fada is a medieval funerary carving in Kilfane Church, created from a single limestone stone. The work depicts a knight figure in full battle armor with chainmail, carefully detailed across its surface.

The figure was created around 1330 to honor Thomas de Cantwell, a Cambro-Norman lord who controlled the area until his death in 1319. The work came to be made years after his passing as a testament to his once-powerful family's presence in this part of Ireland.

The stone shows a knight holding a shield that represents the Cantwell family and their standing in the region. The coat of arms and its details tell of a wealthy and influential family from the medieval period.

The carving sits inside the church ruins and can be reached by a path from the parking area nearby. It helps to wear sturdy shoes, as the ground is uneven and the church remains exposed to the weather.

Local lore recorded by essayist Hubert Butler held that children at the nearby Protestant school were sometimes punished by having to kiss the statue. The effigy is carved from a single slab of limestone and was probably first a sarcophagus lid, later set upright against an inner wall of Kilfane Church.