Ecclesiastical enclosure in Carrig Island

This site is situated on low-lying pastureland, and the view from it is excellent in all directions. A large early ecclesiastical site, it is not marked on the OS maps but shows up quite clearly on aerial photographs taken by the Survey in 1987. The remains consist of a sub-circular bivallate enclosure, measuring internally 210m N-S and 175m E-W. The enclosing earthen banks are low and wide and rise to a maximum of .6m high. The enclosing banks are cut in several places by various fieldbanks and a bohareen cuts through the N sector of the enclosure in a NW-SE direction. The outer bank has been much levelled and can only be traced from the W to S and for c 80m from the N to NE; it is c 3.6 wide and .5m high. The inner bank is much better preserved, though quite low in places, and it can still be traced, except to the NE to E to ESE where it has been completely ploughed out. The bank is on average 5m wide and .8m high. The interior is at much the same level as the surrounding land and contained within the interior are the foundations of house-sites and other buildings. There is also the remains of a c 15th-century friary (KE002-008001-) and a holy well (KE002-008002-) dedicated to the friars. The centre of the interior is cut by an inverted V-shaped fieldbank, which in turn cuts through several of the internal structures. The field S of the fieldbank has been continuously ploughed and planted, and as a result no visible trace survives of the internal structures on this side. Between the inner and outer enclosing bank to the NW are what would appear to be old ridge lines. The overall external diameter of the enclosure is 330m N-S and 260m E-W. See attached plan of Carrig Island monastic enclosure taken from North Kerry Archaeological Survey (Toal 1995, 209). The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 830. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 3 August 2013