What is recorded here

Enclosure in Inishcaltra OR Holy Island is a lost circular drystone chamber on Inis Cealtra, built during the seventeenth or eighteenth century to guide pilgrims past the Saint’s Graveyard. De Paor excavated it between 1972 and 1976, uncovering paving and a Confessional in its southwest quadrant before the site vanished from ordinary sight. The chamber may have turned grief into rhythm, forcing the body to walk a small sacred circle instead of standing helpless before death.

Situated immediately N of the Saint’s Graveyard (CL029-009030-) on Inis Cealtra. An overgrown enclosure (diam. c. 15m) defined by a stony bank was excavated by de Paor between 1972 and 1976 (Licence no. E000180) (de Paor 2013, 37). Excavation revealed a drystone wall similar to the enclosures (CL029-009004- and CL029-009007-) around St. Brigid’s and St. Michael’s churches. Some paving survived around the perimeter. The ‘Confessional’ (CL029-009017-) lay in the SW quadrant of the enclosure. According to de Paor (ibid.) this was a development associated with remodelling for the purpose of pilgrimage rounds in the 17th/18th century. There was no evidence of an earlier enclosure at this location and there is no enclosure extant. Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 4 November 2015

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