The story of Gallarus Oratory

Look at the shape first: with its sloping side walls, the Gallarus Oratory has been compared to an upturned boat. It is the only intact building of its type, so it has drawn attention since the mid-18th century. Its large stones, cut from the Old Red Sandstone of the Dingle Beds, are shaped on every side to fit together perfectly. As the walls rise, each course projects slightly inward, and the stones are laid lower on the outside so rainwater runs off.

The walls are 4 feet thick at the bottom. Inside, the room is only about 4.8 by 3 metres, dimly lit by one tiny round-headed window opposite the door. But what was it for? In 1756 Charles Smith called it an early Christian stone church.

Local tradition said it was a funerary chapel built by one Griffith More or his family. Later Peter Harbison suggested a 12th-century church, then a pilgrims' shelter. Trial cuttings in 1970 found nothing to settle the question.