Rory O'Tunny

{{Short description|Irish sculptor}}

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{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2020}}

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| name = Rory O'Tunny

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| birth_place = Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland

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| nationality = Irish

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Rory O'Tunny (fl. c. 1520 – 1542; {{Langx|ga|Ruaidrí Ó Tonnaigh}}, {{Langx|la|Roricus Otunne}}; other spellings include Ruoricus, Otyuny, Otwyne, Otuyne, Otyyne{{cite web | url=https://www.libraryireland.com/irishartists/rory-otunny.php | title=Rory O'Tunny, Sculptor | publisher=LibraryIreland | accessdate=5 September 2024 }}) was an Irish sculptor.

File:Knights Tomb.jpg

Rory O'Tunny was born into a family of sculptors, said to have originated in Callan, County Kilkenny. According to his own signature in Kilcooly Abbey, his father's name was Patrick. Rory was primarily a sculptor of tombs, eight of which of which he signed with his full name.{{cite book |last1=Carrigan |first1=William |title=The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory |date=1905 |volume=IV |page=410}}{{cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=John |title=Rory O'Tunney and the Ossory Tomb Sculptures |journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland |date=1950 |volume=80}} Among his more prominent works are three tombs in Kilcooly Abbey, the resting place of Sir John Grace and his wife, Honora Brenach, in the North aisle of St. Canice' Cathedral,{{cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=John |title=Rory O'Tunney and the Ossory Tomb Sculptures |journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland |date=1950 |volume=80 |page=23}} County Kilkenny, and the tombs of Robert Walsh and his wife, Katherine Poer (Power), at Jerpoint Abbey.

Several of the chest tombs at St. Canice's Cathedral which had been taken apart and scattered in the graveyard by Cromwellian forces and re-assembled in the 19th century have been partially identified as O'Tunny's work by John Hunt.{{cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=John |title=Rory O'Tunney and the Ossory Tomb Sculptures |journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland |date=1950 |volume=80 |page=22-28}}

He is also believed to have carved the Trinity Stone (Throne of Grace) once housed in St. Mary's Church, Callan,Strickland, Henry G. A Dictionary of Irish Artists. Maunsel & Company, Limited, Dublin and London. 1913. now in the Catholic Church in Callan.