The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Kerry (pre-1974 traditional (Republic of Ireland))
Parish church
Romanesque church consisting of nave and chancel. The nave measures 9.00 m x 5.96 m
and the chancel 5.75 m x 5.00 m externally. Ruined, but with most of the walls
intact. The W portal is partly restored. There are round-headed windows in the S wall
of the nave, and in the E and S walls of the chancel. There is a stone altar, and a
niche in the S wall of the chancel. Only the S jamb of the chancel arch remains, and
some fragments of loose sculpture have been set into the wall above the jamb. Eleven
cross-inscribed slabs have also been found on the island, close to the church. There
are also remains of a number of small stone houses on the island.
Parish church
The church has a pre-Romanesque nave with antae and a flat-headed W doorway surrounded
by a frame in relief. The chancel was added in the 12thc. The E window is round-headed
with a Romanesque moulding. The church was much restored c.1700. There is an ogham stone
and an early Christian cross slab in the nave.
Ruined church, formerly cathedral
The church is ruined and roofless and consists of a nave and chancel separated by a solid wall. The nave measures c.9.9 m x 7.16 m, the chancel 13.64 m x 7.19 m. The N and E walls of the nave and most of the W wall are still intact, while only the E part of the S wall remains. The walls are of rubble. There are plain round-headed windows with an interior splay towards the E end of the N and S walls, and a damaged round-headed window in the E wall of the nave, set slightly S of centre. The chancel, which is longer than the nave, was evidently added at a later date. The N and E walls remain, as well as the lower courses of the S wall. The E wall has a 13thc. double window with pointed arches and small sculptures on the central mullion with a plaited motif and a male head. Some sculptures have been reset on top of the S wall in the centre. The lower part of a reconstructed round tower remains near the NW corner of the church.
Cathedral church
A nave and chancel church with a Romanesque doorway and blind arcade on the W wall. Some Romanesque masonry is found under two windows on the N wall. Two small square niches in the NE corner may be Romanesque. The present layout of the church dates from the 13thc. there is a triple lancet window in the E wall and nine slender windows in the S wall. The remains of a triple sedilia are found on the S wall of the chancel.
Church (ruin)
Ruined church of 13thc. or later medieval date with an early 19thc. tower. Only the E gable and N and S walls of the chancel remain. There is a round-headed E window, and traces of a window in the S wall. There is a doorway in the N wall. There is a rectangular piscina at the E end of the S wall with a roll-moulded surround. A Romanesque carved head is set into what was the interior S wall of the church. Internal width of church 5.85 m. The church is constructed from rubble masonry.
Church (ruin)
A Romanesque nave and chancel church located NW of the cathedral. Only the nave survives. It has columns at the external angles, and a cornice and corbels along the S facade. Some carved and moulded stones have been reused in the upper W and S facades. The S window has unusual floral decoration on interior and exterior. The chancel arch has lost its inner order but retains two outer orders with chevron on the arch. There is a round-headed W doorway with a decorated label. The N window of the nave has a round-headed chamfered exterior and a square interior opening. the W facade has a splayed flat-headed window.
The walls are of rubble, mostly limestone, and the carved stone is of red sandstone. At the NE angle only one section of the angle column remains, keyed into the angle of the walls, while the rest has been rebuilt in limestone with squared quoins.
Church (ruin)
A carved stone has been reset in the S wall of the disused church, near the join between the roofless section at the W end and the roofed E section. The carved stone is evidently not part of the original masonry.