Church

The National Monuments Service's description

KE088-027004- is located on a fairly steep, S facing slope of Knocknaskereighta mountain, towards the head of a broad valley which is locally known as ‘The Glen’. It affords excellent views to St Finan’s Bay and the Skelligs at W. The site is associated with St Buonia (Beoanigh), who is locally reputed to have been a sister of St Patrick. It has also been suggested that the site was founded by St Brendan or by St Beoanus, his disciple (O’Donoghue 1893, 280-3). Permission to survey the site was refused, and the following description is based on summary notes and the accounts published of it by Lynch (1902a) and Henry (1957).
Oratory (KE088-027001-): This poorly preserved building measures 6.3m E-W x 5.5m N-S externally. It lacks its corbelled roof and the interior, c. 3.8m x c. 3.5m, is almost filled with collapse. The drystone-built, corbelled walls are preserved to a maximum height of 1.3m at S and W, and at W are 1.25m thick. Here, a double-lintelled doorway, .7m high above present ground level, inclines in elevation from .75m to .52m below the head. The remains of a window are preserved in the S wall at the level of .35m wide external offset, and a poorly preserved lintelled ope occurs in the E end-wall.

See attached photograph courtesy of Amanda Clarke

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 954. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 30 July 2013