Templenatinny — Inishmurray

This church, traditionally named ‘Templenatinny’ or ‘Teampall na Teine’, is located in the W half of an ecclesiastical enclosure (SL011-011001-), known as ‘The Cashel’. A clochan (SL001-001003-), named Torybrennel, abuts it at S. This large rectilinear building is orientated NE/SW and measures 5.1 m long by 3.4 m wide, within walls 0.65 m thick. The walls are of mortared rubble, roughly brought to course. Putlog holes at the wall head, internally, indicate positions of wooden roof joists. A shallow plinth – possibly remnants of the original wall footings or possibly an earlier building on the same stance – extends from the base of the building on the east, north and west wall faces. There is a plain doorway midway in the south wall, with a broad internal splay. The lintel bears a cross and may be a reused cross slab (SL001-001033-). Opposite this is a large window of similar form (the external ground level rises to the sill). The east gable is pierced by a narrow window, with a wide internal splay. Immediately below this is a small aumbry slightly offset to the north. The most distinctive feature of the building is the ‘hearth’ (SL001-001012-), a group of flat stones edge-set within the floor to form a square kerb, roughly 1 m wide. There is a millstone lying within the south-west corner. The floor is now overspread with gravel. The above description is derived from the results of a survey of the archaeological monuments on Inishmurray undertaken in 1997-1999 and published in: Jerry O’Sullivan and Tomás Ó Carragáin 2008 Inishmurrary. Monks and pilgrims in an Atlantic landscape. Volume 1: Archaeological Survey and Excavations 1997-2000. Cork. The Collins Press. Date of upload: 16 January 2018