St. Brendans Chapel (in Ruins) — Inis Gluaire

At the E end of Inishglora island. This church, named ‘St. Brendan’s Chapel’ on the 1838 and 1921 OS 6-inch maps, is a National Monument in state ownership (no. 99). It is the oldest and smallest of three churches associated with an early medieval monastery or hermitage traditionally said to have been founded on the island in the 6th century by St Brendan the Navigator. The two other churches, Templenafear (the Men's church) (MA016-003008-) and Templenaman (the Women’s church) (MA016-003009-) are located c. 5m to S and 30m to SW, respectively. This tiny stone-built rectangular church (int. 2.5m N−S; 3.7m E−W) appears sunken, as it has been engulfed by rising exterior ground level to the extent that the external faces of the N, E and S walls are now entirely concealed. The interior of the church reveals that these walls are neatly constructed of horizontally laid rectangular slabs and stones. The N wall stands to a height of 1.3m above interior ground level and the S wall to a height of 1.8m. Both walls bow inward slightly under pressure from the exterior soil build-up. The W wall, which contains the entrance, remains free of soil build-up. It is approached by an unroofed E−W passage way (L 5.5m; Wth 1.4m) flanked by rough drystone walling (Wth 0.6m; H 1.2m) which abuts but is not keyed into the church wall. Entrance to the church is through a trabeate doorway (H 1.03m; Wth 0.6m at base, 0.4m at top), roofed by a single long slab, in the centre of the W wall. A hanging eye/hold stone projects from the inner wall face on both the N and S sides of the doorway at a height of c. 1.3m above ground level. The one on the S side is broken. These were designed to hold posts for the original timber door. There is a lintelled window (H 0.6m; Wth 0.5m at base, 0.3m at top) roughly in the centre of the E wall, now blocked up externally. A low, flat-topped drystone bench-like structure (2.3m E−W; 0.8m N−S; H 0.4m) is built against the inner face of the S wall, extending E from the SW angle. At its W end its outer edge is flush with the S side of the doorway, and it takes up much of the meagre internal space within the church. The top surface is strewn with loose, partly moss-covered stones. A remarkable feature of this church was a medieval wooden statue (MA016-003007-) of St. Brendan, which once stood in the NE corner and was venerated by pilgrims to the island. It was already in poor condition when seen by O’Donovan in 1838. He describes it as being ‘about four feet three inches in height [c. 1.2m]. The face is now nearly effaced from the actions of the weather, and the hands which were in the position of thanksgiving are nearly worn away. The neck was bare.’ He recorded the local belief that ‘The person who takes up this figure of Brendan three times in the name of the three persons of the Blessed Trinity is believed to receive the power of relieving a woman in labor by touching her with his hands.’ (O’Flanagan 1927, 106 (203-204)). The statue appears to have disappeared/decayed away sometime in the early 20th century. O’Donovan noted its striking similarity to a late 13th- or early 14th-century carved oak statue (SL001-001008-), traditionally said to represent St. Molaise, which was once kept in Teach Molaise church (SL001-001005-) on Inishmurray and is now preserved in the National Museum of Ireland. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 17 November 2021