St. Brendans Oratory (in ruins)

National Monument No. 10058. St. Brendan's Oratory (KE034-047001-) /Teampaillín Bréanainn: A rectangular drystone-built structure measuring 3.85m E-W and .85 to 1m N-S. The walls are .75m high internally and c. 0.5m wide but they do not rise above the external ground level. The entrance in the W wall is now blocked by the cross-inscribed stone. A drystone-faced cairn at the E end of the structure supports an iron cross made from the spars of a German bomber which crashed nearby during World War 2. Dressed stones were discovered when temporary altars were being constructed in 1868 (O'Donoghue 1895, 341). Some of these were apparently elaborately carved somewhat in the same style as the arch stones of the door of the church at Kilmalkedar (KE042-026008-). Unfortunately these stones are no longer visible and it was therefore not possible to verify whether or not a Romanesque church once stood on this site. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage (compiler) 'Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey.' Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne (1986), no. 818. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 May 2013

St. Brendan's Oratory at An Fhaiche is a small rectangular drystone structure, likely built in the early medieval period, associated with St. Brendan, a significant figure in Irish monastic tradition. Its survival as a national monument reflects the religious and architectural heritage of early Christian Ireland.