Church in Illaunloughan,portmagee

National Monument No. 10001. Illaunloughan/Oileán Lócháin (KE087-036017-) is a small, low-lying island located in Portmagee Channel, c. 120m from the mainland at S and c. 400m WNW of Portmagee (Port Mhic Aoidh) village. The island stands in the civil parish of Killemlagh (Cill Imleach), in the barony of Iveragh (Uíbh Ráthach). Its habitable surface measures a maximum of 26m N-S x 50m E-W, and is c. 0.1ha in area. According to Marshall and Walsh (1998, 102) 'There is no historical documentation for the island, and the origin of its name is uncertain. Lochán may be the name of a saint associated with the island, a theory supported by the mention of two Lochans in the Martyrology of Oengus, written c. AD 800 (Stokes 1984, 255, 263) and by the inland location of Killoughane (Cill Lócháin) ecclesiastical site [KE065-058001-] at the eastern end of the Iveragh peninsula (O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, 357). Alternatively the island name may be derived from the island of the chaff. Four seasons of archaeological work, carried out from 1992 to 1995, have completed the excavation of about 70 per cent of the island. The foundations of a drystone oratory (KE087-036008-) overlay a leacht (KE087-036021-) on its N side and was preceded by two sod-built structures, possibly oratories (KE087-036018-), at E. A radiocarbon date of 640-790 AD was derived from a context overlying the clay floor of the stone oratory. The second excavated oratory was described by Marshall and Walsh (2005, 32-6) as follows; 'A second, smaller structure replaced the earlier sod oratory [KE087-036018-] built on the east side of the earlier oratory. This diminutive building was only 1.2m wide north-south and of uncertain length, at least 0.80m. No traces of its western wall trenches survived; they were probably covered by the western wall of the later drystone oratory. Two parallel trenches, each packed with large rectangular sandstones, were reminiscent of the trenches of the earlier sod oratory, although no sod-like material was left between the trenches. A light thatch roof may have rested directly on the walls, as there was no evidence of a roof-support system. Although the distance between the trenches was narrow, no more than 0.25m, this second structure may have had sod walls, provided they were no higher than 1.5m. No other feature of this structure survived, and its purpose remains enigmatic, although its location in this area devoted to sacred structures hints that it served an important function. The incorporation of sections of both the first oratory and this second structure in the later drystone oratory appears deliberate and was perhaps intended to create a physical and spiritual link between them. Even the upright stones of the small structure were left untouched and upright where the drystone wall of the later oratory was laid on top of them. The small structure on Illaunloughan was the second of three structures built in this location, and, unlike the stone oratories mentioned above, it replaced the primary, sod oratory and preceded the later, drystone oratory [KE087-036008-]. There was no evidence of an oratory elsewhere during its existence. The location of an oratory was carefully considered, and excavation often reveals that successive oratories were built close to or on top of earlier ones. The presence of an earlier and a later oratory here suggests that this structure may also have been one. Its minute size, moreover, would make it the smallest known oratory in Ireland, and it is difficult to imagine that it served the same purpose as the primary or later oratories. The thin walls and the small size of the structure suggest that it may have been a temporary structure. During construction of the gable shrine and the drystone oratory it may have been used as a short-term oratory serving as a shrine storage area for the relics that needed to be moved in order to build the gable shrine and to contain Gospel books and liturgical equipment'. This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 1/1998). See attached plan of second oratory taken from Marshall and Walsh 2005, 33, Fig. 26b. 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. 964. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 30 March 2022