What is recorded here

Templenacloonagh is a small stone enclosure on a gentle slope above Smerwick Harbour, holding three cross-inscribed pillars and the remains of an oratory. The southern pillar carries a triple-barred cross with lozenge and triangular details, while the broken northern pillar displays four stacked crosses, one containing a smaller equal-armed cross inside a circle. Someone cut repeated marks into hard stone where the sea could be seen, perhaps counting prayers, claiming a boundary or answering a vow. The harbour still appears beneath them, unchanged except for the life that has stopped speaking.

Templenacloonagh/Teampall na Cluanach: Sub-rectangular enclosure KE042-113001- lies on a very gentle WNW facing slope and commands a good clear view in all directions, particularly NW to Smerwick Harbour. Within it can be seen the remains of an oratory, a 2nd building which is possibly a church, and 2 possible hut sites. Cross-inscribed stones: (1) The S stone stands 1.58m high and is .32m wide at base. Its W face is inscribed with a triple-barred cross, the crossing of the shaft and upper bar being formed by an outline lozenge. There are bifurcated terminals to the upper and lower arms and hook-like bifurcated terminals to the head and base of the cross; the terminals of the middle bar take the form of outline triangles. A small plain cross occurs near the base of the same face. (2) The N stone stands 1.52m high but has broken across the top. Its E face is inscribed with a Latin cross with expanded terminals. The W face is inscribed with a series of 4 crosses, one above the other. The uppermost cross has expanded terminals to its side arms but its head is now missing. Pendant from the end of its shaft is a circle, within which is an equal-armed cross with bar terminals. Below this is a Latin cross with a bar terminal to its head, expanded terminals to the arms and a scrolled terminal at base. The lowermost cross has expanded terminals to head and arms but its stem is now partly buried beneath the ground surface. (3) An oblong boulder measuring .49m x .35m x .32m thick. A roughly equal-armed cross with T-bar terminals is carved on one face. To see a 3D model of this monument, visit; https://skfb.ly/68KxW The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 866. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 9 August 2013

Likely dating to the early Christian period, the cross-inscribed pillar may have had a religious or commemorative function, possibly associated with a small monastic or ritual site. Such stones often marked territorial boundaries, served as waymarkers, or were linked to local saints and early Christian traditions.

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