Ecclesiastical enclosure in Páirc An Teampaill

Calluragh burial ground (KE044-078005-) and St. Martins Church/Teampall Mártain or An Teampall Liath: This site lies on the floor of the valley that separates the central mountain range from the Sea Hill ridge, and its situation on slightly elevated ground affords it an extensive outlook. Preserved within the large oval earthen-banked enclosure are the foundations of 3 or 4 rectangular house sites and a possible souterrain. The ruins of Templemartin church stand in the E sector. Children were interred here until the early part of this century (An Seabhac 1939, 160) but no graves or gravemarkers are now visible. The enclosure measures 54.2m N-S and 71m E-W internally and the enclosing bank rises to a maximum height of 1.4m internally and 2.4m externally. In the SE quadrant, the bank has been removed and replaced by a stone wall which formerly continued directly outside the N part of the bank (OS maps). A very slight depression in the latter area may mark the line of this wall rather than an earlier fosse. Access to the interior is provided by gaps at SSE, NW and ENE, the latter having been recently created or widened. Rectangular foundations: (1) The structure abutting the bank at N measures 7.7m N-S x 3.8m E-W internally and the walls are reduced to banks of earth and stone less than .5m high. There are opposed entrance gaps in the E and W walls. (2) The structure abutting the wall at SE measures 11m NE-SW x 4.6m NW-SE internally and the walls are largely reduced to mounds of earth and stone up to .85m in height; the outer face is traceable in places. There are possible entrance gaps in each of the remaining 3 sides of the structure. (3) Abutting the bank at S, this structure measures 8.7m N-W by 3.3m E-W internally and is defined by a low bank of earth and stones less than .5m high. (4) A rectangular depression, 6.3m E-W x 4m N-S x .5m deep, which abuts the bank at W may also mark the site of a house. A smaller depression, 3.5m N-S x 2m E-W, lies 2m to N of the latter. Souterrain (KE044-078003-): The 4 large flagstones exposed on the surface in the W part of the enclosure probably mark the souterrain noted in the OSNB (Minard, 28). They overlie a depression 2m long x .5m wide x .3m deep. Apart from the church, the only other features visible in the interior are a low oval mound to SW of house (1) and an L-shaped mound, less than .5m high, located a little to S of the former. Templemartin Church (KE044-078004-): The ruins of the rectangular church, 10.3 x 4m internally, testify to two building periods. The original church, a pre-13th century foundation, was subsequently extended eastwards, probably in the 15th/16th century. The E limit of the earlier church cannot now be ascertained due to the poor preservation of the stonework, but 2 roughly opposed breaks in the N and S walls, c. 6m from the W gable, may indicate collapse due to poor bonding of the extension. The walls are built of boulder rubble and split stone with a core of small stones laid in a lime mortar; the later work, visible on the exterior of the E gable and its return along the S wall, is generally poorer, being widely jointed with greater use of pinnings. The W sections of the N and S walls stand to a height of c. 2.3m and are .83m thick. The break in the N wall, now largely obscured by fallen masonry, may mark the site of an entrance. The NW and SW quoins have fallen and the exterior face of the W gable has largely collapsed. The central section, c. 2.2m in height, preserves the original lintelled doorway, its head surmounted by a massive boulder. The inclining jambs and ingoings are formed of neatly squared blocks, and the doorway is framed externally by a sunken architrave with projecting half round moulding on the reveals. The through lintel has a broken pivot hole on the inner N edge and the door was further secured beneath this by a metal or wooden gudgeon housed in an angled groove in the wall. The upper section of the S ingoing has collapsed and large stones wedged under the lintel here include the head of a single light ogee window, probably the later E window. The E wall, c. 1m high, preserves the broken sill of this ope, and 2 chamfered block jambs, now fallen, indicate a light c. 0.16m wide and 1.12m high. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 830. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 8 August 2013