Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Enclosure
High Island, County Galway, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- High Island
- County
- Galway
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.54477, -10.26118
- SMR number
- GA021-026021-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
This enclosure surrounds the church (GA021-026014-) and graveyard (GA021-026026-) on High Island. Prior to excavations by Scally (2014, 42, 70, 85-94) it was barely discernible beneath mounds of rubble. The excavations revealed that it was of two phases of construction. The primary enclosure was probably rectangular in plan. Following restructuring its N side was subsequently rebuilt inside the line of the original enclosure. The resulting enclosure (9m E-W; 7m N-S) is trapezoidal in plan and all four walls are of varying lengths. Only the W and N walls are aligned with the church and this has resulted in considerable variation in space between the two structures, ranging from 2m at the SW corner to 0.7m at the SE corner. The entire area of the enclosure was paved. There are two entrance gaps, one at NE and one at NW. The outer face of the E wall is obscured by the clochan (GA021-026013-) that was built up against it and its SE corner is buttressed. A cross-slab (GA021-026047-) is embedded in the internal face of this wall, at its N end. The dating of both phases of construction of the enclosure is unclear but evidence from hearth debris indicates that the primary wall post-dates a date range of cal. AD 728-971. (Kinahan 1869, 348; Healy 1890, 673-86; Macalister 1896, 197-210; White Marshall and Rourke 2000, 99-102)
The following images have been uploaded:
GA021-026021----_01.JPG View from NW
GA021-026021----_02.JPG Entrance gap at NE
GA021-026021----_03.JPG Entrance gap at SW
Compiled by: Olive Alcock
Date of upload: 11 December 2015
References
Kinahan, G.H. 1869b Proceedings: ancient remains on the islands off the western coast of Iar-Connaught. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 10, 348.
Macalister, R.A.S. 1896a The antiquities of Ardoilean, County Galway. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 26, 197-210.
Scally, G. 2014 High Island (Ardoileán), Co. Galway: excavation of an early medieval monastery. Archaeological Monograph Series 10. Dublin. The Stationery Office.
White Marshall, J. and Rourke, G.D. 2000 High Island: an Irish monastery in the Atlantic. Dublin. Town House and Country House.
Healy, J. 1890 An island shrine in the west. The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 673-86.
Nearby in the register
- Churchunder 1 mi
- Clochanunder 1 mi
- Clochanunder 1 mi
- Cross-slabunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.