Church Island (Valentia Harbour)

Church Island is a medieval Christian monastery and National Monument located in Valentia Harbour, Ireland. [3]

Church Island
Oileán an Teampaill[1]
Location within Ireland
Monastery information
Established7th century AD
Disestablishedbefore 1100
DioceseKerry
Architecture
Statusruined
StyleCeltic
Site
LocationValentia Harbour, County Kerry
Coordinates51.937597°N 10.283343°W / 51.937597; -10.283343
Public accessyes
National Monument of Ireland
Official nameChurch Island (Valentia Harbour) Early Medieval Ecclesiastical Site[2]
Reference no.59

Location

Church Island is located on a 1-acre (0.4 ha) island in Valentia Harbour, immediately west of Beginish, 1.4 km (0.87 mi) north of Knightstown.[4]

History

The island was anciently a centre for iron smelting.

The monastery was established in the 7th century AD.[5]

Excavations by M. J. O'Kelly in 1955–56 turned up the remnants of a wooden oratory and a cross inscribed with Ogham.[6][7][8][9] It also gave evidence of the diet of the monks: cod, ballan wrasse, oats, barley, gannet, shag, cormorant, goose, duck, beef, mutton, pork, goat meat, horsemeat and seal.[10]

Description

Contains the remains of a stone oratory, clochán (possibly a hospitium),[11] and holy well.

References

  1. "Oileán an Teampaill/Church Island". Logainm.ie.
  2. https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/media/pdf/monuments-in-state-care-kerry.pdf
  3. Lynch, P. J. (8 March 2018). "Church Island, Valentia Harbour, Co. Kerry". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 10 (2): 155–160. JSTOR 25507048.
  4. GoKerry.ie. "Church Island, Valentia Harbour, Valentia Island - GoKerry". www.gokerry.ie.
  5. Ireland, Royal Society of Antiquaries of (1901). Journal via Internet Archive. Church Island valentia.
  6. "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society. 8 March 2018 via Google Books.
  7. Hendroff, Adrian (30 March 2015). "Killarney to Valentia Island – The Iveragh Peninsula: A Walking Guide". The Collins Press via Google Books.
  8. "Church island, valencia harbour, County Kerry". www.earlychristianireland.net.
  9. Activeme.ie. "Church Island Monastic Settlement, Valentia Harbour, Kerry, Ireland – Things to See and Do - Activeme.ie". www.activeme.ie.
  10. "The unknown Kerry beauty of Church Island laying low to the surrounding Lough Kay". 20 November 2017.
  11. Addleshaw, George William Outram (8 March 1973). "The Pastoral Structure of the Celtic Church in Northern Britain". Borthwick Publications via Google Books.
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