Leacht in Inishmurray

Close to Trahanee enclosure (SL001-010001-). Wakeman (1893, 137) recorded this structure, now vanished, as follows: ‘At a short distance from it [i.e. Trahanee] stands an altar ... but the name of the saint to whom it was dedicated has not been retained, and the pile is simply called Altóir, ‘altar’. It is square in plan, seventeen feet eight inches [5.4m] in girth at the ground, and still exhibits a finial, consisting of a rude flagstone devoid of cross or carving on any kind set upright on its summit.’ This was not seen by the survey team in 1998. Wakeman may have printed a false account from a misreading of his field notes. It is more likely that this once existed and is now dispersed. The above description is derived from the results of a survey of the archaeological monuments on Inishmurray undertaken in 1997-1999 and published in: Jerry O’Sullivan and Tomás Ó Carragáin 2008 Inishmurrary. Monks and pilgrims in an Atlantic landscape. Volume 1: Archaeological Survey and Excavations 1997-2000. Cork. The Collins Press.

Leacht in Inishmurray is associated with early Christian tradition, likely linked to a saintly figure whose name has not been recorded. The altar, now vanished, was noted in historical surveys as a place of local religious significance.