Oratory (in Ruins) — Church Island (iveragh By., Castlequin Ed)

National Monument No. 59. Oratory (KE079-032002-): The remains of the oratory stand on slightly sloping ground at the W edge of the island, partly overlying the location of the rectangular wooden building. Of corbelled drystone construction, the oratory lacks a roof. Its pointed vault originally closed about 5m above floor level. The remains measure 8.5m x 6.5m externally, and are orientated approximately E-W. The walls are built of purple slate, which was probably transported from nearby Valencia Island or Dolus Head. They average 1.4m in basal thickness and survive to a maximum height of 3.3m above the original floor level. They are faced both internally and externally with roughly dressed slabs and feature a core of slate chippings. External offsets occur at an average height of 1.5m at N, S and W, and .6m above this level at E. These offsets are coped with large, roughly dressed slabs which project slightly from the courses below. Above the level of the offsets the walls corbel inwards more markedly. Here the external facing slabs are bedded at a slight, outwards tilt. The tops of the walls were capped with concrete by the OPW during conservation work in the early twentieth century. The oratory measures 5.72m x 3.77m internally. Excavation showed that its original floor surface was of trampled earth interlayered with organic materials such as straw or grass. The E gable is pierced by a window with inclining jambs and a deeply plunging stepped sill. It debouches beneath the level of the external offset, where it measures .55m high and .5m wide. A second window pierces the E end of the S wall; it features a flat head, splayed ingoings and inclining jambs, and its external ope, measuring .63m high and .37m wide, occurs at offset level. A trabeate doorway with collapsed head is located in the W gable; evidence indicated that it may have been up to 1.85m high. At its base, which measures .8m wide, the two threshold slabs remain in situ. Excavation here revealed a heel-stone and, in the rubble outside the doorway, two slabs with semicircular notches which probably served to secure the door frame. Gable Finials: Two finials are on record from the site and probably surmounted the gables of the stone oratory. The first is decorated and is of green sandstone. It was found in 1936 on the sea-bed to the E side of the island. Heavily weathered, it is heart-shaped with projecting sick-wings and features a basal tenon. Measuring .43m in maximum width, it is decorated on one face and both sides. On the sides are geometrical patterns of continuous lozenges, while a full-length human figure with upraised forearms is carved in low relief on one face. On both sides of the head of this figure are stylised animal heads, formed by grooving. The second, undecorated, finial was found in the SE quadrant of the island. It is of slate and is roughly dressed to a shallow Y-form. It has maximum dimensions of .65m x .34m. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 927. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 July 2013