Church

The National Monuments Service's description

National Monument No. 67. Illauntannig is the largest of the Magharee Islands which lie off the N tip of the peninsula that separates Brandon Bay and Tralee Bay. The Early Christian settlement KE019-002001- is enclosed by a strong cashel wall and is comprised of 2 small oratories, 3 bee-hive huts, a souterrain and wall-chamber, 3 leachts, a burial ground and a stone cross. Three cross-slabs, a bullaun stone, a hand-bell and fragments of 5 quern-stones have also been discovered within the enclosure and a 2nd bullaun stone lies at the edge of the sea about 100m to S. The hut-site, old field walls and reputed cross-inscribed boulder on Reennafardarrig may also be related to this early settlement.

Oratory B: This small wedge-shaped building is contained within the thickness of the cashel wall at SE. It measures 2.2m x 2.35m internally and the drystone-built corbelled walls are preserved to a maximum height of 2m. The E wall has been carried away by the sea and only a single large slab remains. It is set on edge in the ground and measures 1.75m long x .43m high. Similar large slabs occur at the base of the N and S walls. The lintelled doorway is located in the W wall. An offset occurs in the outer face of this latter wall, about .28m below the top of the doorway. A 2nd offset, only a single course high, is also partly exposed at the base of the wall. The outer face of the N wall appears to curve inwards towards the rear and externally the oratory may have been D-shaped in plan. The quartz pebbles set into the wall above the doorway have been described as forming a cross but this is not now evident.

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 843. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 8 August 2013

References

Cuppage, J. 1986 Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne.