The Ballaugh Cross was carved by the Manx runemaster Gaut Bjornsson. Nearly 200 carved crosses have survived on the Isle of Mann dating from the Celtic early Christian period of Viking settlement up to the early 11th century. The Scandinavian chain link shaft design comes from Viking influence. The ribbon like knotwork of this cross is said to be in the form of Irminsul. Irminsul is similar to the tree of life or the cosmic axis, which is the connection between heaven and earth.

This cross comes from a cross-slab, which has runic writing along one side. Many Scandinavian runestones used the Irminsul form for the presentation of the runic inscription, with the script read upwards along the shaft.