Church

The National Monuments Service's description

This church is located within a small enclosure (GA021-026021-), which lies in the N half of the ecclesiastical enclosure (GA021-026022-) on High Island. It comprises a conserved single-cell church, dedicated to St Féichín, and is one of the smallest of the Atlantic island churches. Described by Scally (1914, 42, 52-65) as being almost square in plan (3.43m E-W; 3.14m N-S). There are three distinct building phases, the earliest dating from the mid- to late 11th century and most of the masonry relates to this phase. The church post-dates the earliest phases of activity at the monastery (see GA021-026021- and GA021-026026-) as evidenced by the incorporation of the headstones of a number of earlier graves within the foundations of the external face of its E wall. The N and S side-walls (Wth 0.7-0.75m) survive to full height. A trabeate doorway (Wth 0.8-0.9m) in the W wall is slightly off-centre to the N. Its internal lintel is a reused cross-slab (GA021-026023-). Prior to conservation works most of the central section of the E wall (Wth 0.82-1m) had collapsed. It has been rebuilt and the reconstruction of its small deeply splayed round-headed window is based on the recovery of its window head and sill stone. Within the church there is an aumbry at the N end of the E wall. It is unusual as there is an additional concealed cavity below it and its upper level steps back beyond the line of the N wall. A roughly square altar (1.1m N-S; 1.05m E-W; H c. 0.9m) is built against the E wall, in line with the doorway opposite it. A decorated cross-slab (GA021-026049-) is incorporated into its S side (ibid., 65-7). A holy water stoup and a cross-base (GA021-026075-) that had been placed upon it (White Marshall and Rourke 2000, 84) have been removed and are now in the care of the OPW (see GA084-151027-). During conservation works another broken decorated cross-slab (GA021-026049-) was found lying face down at its base. Excavations within the church revealed evidence of a paved surface. Two graves were recovered, one in the NE corner and one in the NW corner (GA021-026026-), and the base of a leacht (GA021-026083-) was found in the SW corner (Scally ibid., 306-9). (White Marshall and Rourke 2000, 69-91)

Updated by: Olive Alcock

Date of revised upload: 26 February 2019

This monument was taken into Ownership under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 52.

The following images have been appended:
GA021-026014-_01.jpg Aerial view of monastic site prior to conservation
GA021-026014-_02.jpg Aerial view post conservation
GA021-026014-_03.jpg View of conserved church from NW
GA021-026014-_04.jpg View of E window and altar from W
GA021-026014-_05.jpg Doorway from E, note reuse of cross-slab (GA021-026023-) as lintel
GA021-026014-_06.jpg E window, internal view
GA021-026014-_07.jpg E window, external view

References

White Marshall, J. and Rourke, G.D. 2000 High Island: an Irish monastery in the Atlantic. Dublin. Town House and Country House.

Scally, G. 2014 High Island (Ardoileán), Co. Galway: excavation of an early medieval monastery. Archaeological Monograph Series 10. Dublin. The Stationery Office.

Healy, J. 1890 An island shrine in the west. The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 673-86.

Macalister, R.A.S. 1896a The antiquities of Ardoilean, County Galway. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 26, 197-210.