Indicated — Cill Maoilchéadair

National Monument No. 65. The Early Christian and Medieval ecclesiastical complex at Kilmalkedar (KE042-026----) lies at the foot of the W slopes of Reenconnell hill, overlooking Smerwick Harbour. The Reenconnell ridge peaks at 907 feet/276m to NE of the site and the area around Kilmalkedar is sheltered on its N and S sides by spurs of this hill. (10) St. Brendan's House/Fothrach Bréanainn Figs. 190-191: Traditionally known both as St. Brendan's House and the Priest's House, this rectangular gabled building may have been a clerical residence associated with the parish church in medieval times. In recent years the OPW have carried out repairs and repointing of the stonework. The walls, built of split stone and rubble, rise from a battered base and, with the exception of the SE angle, stand to full height. The 3 storey building measures 11.7 x 7.15m externally, and shortly after its construction was subdivided internally by the addition of a cross- wall. A doorway in the S wall at 1st floor level possibly indicates the former existence of a fore-building. The ground floor entrance in the S wall led directly to the W chamber. The door was set back from the outer wall face, its jambs consisting of uprights of thin section not carried the full height of the opening. The draw bar sockets and pivot hole for the door survive and the flat lintelled doorway has a relieving arch on both the internal and external wall faces. There are 2 narrow double-splayed loops with lintelled rear arches in the N and S walls, each measuring .8m in height. The W wall is fitted with 2 wall presses at its N and S ends. Entry to the E chamber was through a doorway, centrally placed in the cross-wall. Only sections of its broadly chamfered jambs survive, rebated for a door which closed against the W chamber. The dividing wall partly obscures the ingoings of the 2 narrow double-splayed loops in the N and S walls of the E chamber. The SE angle survives to a height of c. 1.5m and preserves the remains of a wall-cupboard. Access to the 1st floor was probably by means of a wooden stairs either in the interior or possibly in a forebuilding. This storey had a wooden floor carried on corbels which survive on the E gable and the N wall; beam holes are visible on both gables. The W chamber was lit by a narrow ogee-headed window, .94m high, centrally placed on the W gable. The window had splayed ingoings and stepped lintelled rear arch; the chamfered jambs were rebated for a shutter. THis gable is fitted with a wall-cupboard at its S end and there are 2 similar cupboards in the N wall. The narrow rectangular window in the N wall of the W chamber has chamfered dressings and a flat lintelled rear arch. The splayed E ingoing has been reduced in width by the addition of a skin of masonry applied as bonding for the cross-wall. A ragged hole in the S wall preserves only the splayed ingoings and stepped lintelled rear arch of its former ope. The round-headed doorway in the S wall has chamfered dressings and a flat lintelled rear arch. The jambs are rebated internally for a door, the pivot holes for which survive. There are 2 doorways in the internal dividing wall at 1st floor level, suggesting that the chambers on this floor were further subdivided, probably by a wooden partition. The central, round-headed doorway is similar to that in the S wall, but the narrow doorway at the N end of the cross-wall now lacks its head. The latter had a flat lintelled rear arch and the surviving chamfered jamb was rebated on its E face for a door. This door probably led to the garderobe chamber in the NE corner of the E room. A large flag, angled across the junction of the N and E walls, supports the plain flat-headed doorway of the garderobe chamber. Lit by a narrow loop in its curved E wall, this chamber was roofed by flat flags; the NE angle has been repaired in modern times. The E chamber was probably lit by a window in the fallen S wall and the remains of a wall-cupboard are preserved in the SE angle. Of the 2nd or attic storey, only a wall press on the E gable is preserved and it is not clear whether the dividing wall was carried any higher than the 1st floor. See attached plan and B/W photograph of St. Brendan's Oratory taken from Cuggape 1986. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 855. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 13 October 2014