Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On the E side of Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) and at the centre of the monastic complex, St Caimin’s church is a building of several periods of construction. It was originally a single-celled building (int. dims. 9.22m E-W by 6.1m N-S) with corner antae, in roughly coursed, mortared stone, no doubt with a trabeate doorway (de Paor 2013, 27). The remaining more westerly window in the S wall (H 0.75m; Wth at base 0.4m; Wth at top 0.32m) is of the first period of building which is most probably of 10th century date. It has a flat lintel and inclined sides with an external reveal and the interior sill is built up in steps. There is also a round headed window with external moulding in the S wall closer to the chancel (H 0.7m; Wth at base 0.28m; Wth at top 0.27m). This also has a splayed embrasure but the sill is plunging rather than stepped. A curious small triangular window formed of three stones occupies the W gable high above the door. While this may be original it is not paralleled at other early churches (Ó Carragáin 2010, 309). A Romanesque doorway was later made in the W wall; the present doorway of four orders was inserted during the excavations in the 1970’s replacing a door with three orders built in 1879. A Romanesque chancel was inserted between the E antae. The chancel (int. dims. 4.4m x 3.8m), sometimes referred to as St. Colum ’s church, is neatly built with well squared stones and it is not bonded to the nave. Where the E wall of St. Caimin’s was broken through a chancel arch was inserted with three orders facing the nave and two facing the chancel. Ornament was confined to the rounded piers which are adorned with capitals and there is a grotesque head on the keystone facing the nave. The side walls of the chancel are of ashlar masonry and there is one remaining round-headed window in the S wall (H 0.63m; Wth 0.15m) with an external rebate and internal splay. There may originally have been an E window. The altar as restored is a block of masonry with bowtell mouldings at the angles capped with floral capitals. Ó Carragáin (ibid., 197) notes that monumental altars of well-dressed stone are very rare with only three convincing examples published - this one and two others also in Clare (Dysert O'Dea and Rath). There is a small square aumbry on the S wall close to the chancel arch. A string course extends along the N and S sides of the chancel just below the roof level. At some stage a bell-cote was contrived in the E gable and the building was extensively restored by the Board of Works in 1879-80. The nave was reroofed in the 1990s by the OPW. A large number of crosses and cross-slabs are housed in the church. A graveyard (CL029-009012-) lies to the S and another graveyard, known as the ‘saint’s graveyard’ (CL029-009030-) lies immediately to the E. A round tower (CL029-009010-) lies 11m to the SW. Excavation in this area in 1974 revealed some burials (CL029-009140-) outside the church to the W. Iniscealtra is a national monument in state care, no. 5. (Macalister 1916, 122-30; De Paor 1974; 2013, 27-8)

The following images have been attached:
CL029-009011-_01.jpg View of W doorway of St. Caimin's church.
CL029-009011-_02.jpg External S wall of St. Caimin's church.
CL029-009011-_03.jpg Cross slabs and fragments against the interior S wall of St. Caimin's church.
CL029-009011-_04.jpg Cross and cross-slabs against the interior N wall of St. Caimin's church.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney

Date of upload: 14 October 2015

References

Macalister, R.A.S 1916-17 The history and antiquities of Inis Cealtra. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 33C, 93-174.

De Paor, L. 1974 1974:0009 – Inis Cealtra (Holy Island), Clare. http://www.excavations.ie/report/1974/Clare/0000185/. Accessed 14 October 2015

de Paor †, L. 2013 Inis Cealtra: Archaeological investigations of the monuments on the island. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 53, 27-78.

Large, S. 2011 A church and graveyard survey in County Clare. Database and photographic record. Clare County Council. Clare Heritage Forum. The Heritage Council.

Ó Carragáin, T. 2010 Churches in early medieval Ireland: architecture, ritual and memory. New Haven and London. Yale University Press.