What is recorded here

Teampall a' Manaigh stands as a ruined monks church in Leathchoill, its slab walls still reaching 1.52m above the pasture. A small oval cairn rests five metres north of the structure, local tradition claiming it marks the burial place of a monk. The yellow sea-sand mortar and partially keyed junctions suggest hurried building rather than permanent grandeur. Whatever faith drove those stones together, the Murlin River has kept the secret while the grass claims the rest.

This structure is known locally as Teampall a' Manaigh. The 'monks church' (DG081-005001-) consists of a ruined masonry structure 4.4m externally and 2.75m internally N-S and 6.6m externally and 4.85m internally E-W. The walls survive up to 1.52m in height. The wall-facing is constructed of slabs with a central core of smaller stones and cemented with a yellow sea-sand mortar. The junctions of the walls are only partially keyed together. A small, oval, flat-topped cairn(DG081-005002-) (7.75m E-W, 4.4m N-S and 0.45m in height) 5m N of the N wall of the church is said to be the burial place of a monk. The site is located in fairly good pasture on a SE facing slope just W of the Murlin River. Herity (1971, 25) records a lost cross from Royard in this vicinity but no trace of it could be found on this occasion either. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

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