St. Manchan's Oratory

St. Manchan's Oratory
An Teampall Geal, Templemanagan
Teampall Mhanachain
St. Manchan's Oratory
52.154529°N 10.331290°W / 52.154529; -10.331290
Location	Ballymorereagh, Dingle, County Kerry
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Catholic (pre-Reformation)
History
Dedication	Manchan
Architecture
Functional status	ruined
Style	Celtic Christian
Years built	c. 7th–9th century AD
Specifications
Length	5.5 m (18 ft)
Width	5 m (16 ft)
Height	2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Number of floors	1
Floor area	28 m^2 (300 sq ft)
Materials	dry stone
Administration
Diocese	Ardfert and Aghadoe
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Teampull Geal (Ballymorereagh)
Reference no.	62[1]

St. Manchan's Oratory, also called An Teampall Geal ("the bright church") is a medieval oratory and National Monument in County Kerry, Ireland.[2][3][4][5]

Location

St. Manchan's Oratory is located in Ballymorereagh (An Baile Riabhach), on the southeast slopes of Lateeve (Leataoibh) hill, 4.5 km (2.8 mi) west-northwest of Dingle.[6][7]

Description

Church

A boat-shaped oratory similar to that at Gallarus. It stands 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in) high and has a finial.[8] A souterrain (called Poll na Sagart, the priest's hole, based on the common legends that Catholic priests hid in them in the Penal era) and ancient burial ground with cross-inscribed slabs lie nearby.[9] A holy well, Tobermanaghan, lies to the south.

Ogham stone

The ogham stone (CIIC 170) stands 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) and reads QENỊLOCI MAQI MAQI-AINIA MUC̣[OI] ("of Cellach, son of the son of Ania, of the tribe of ...").[10][11] Sabine Ziegler placed it in the 5th–7th centuries AD.[12]

References

1. "National Monuments of County Kerry in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 2. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
2. "Saints and Stones: St. Manchan's Oratory (Teampall Mhanachain)". www.saintsandstones.net.
3. "The Dingle Peninsula (Co. Kerry) – Page 4 – Ireland Byways". irelandbyways.com.
4. O'Donovan, John (5 November 1983). "The Antiquities of the County of Kerry". Royal Carbery Books – via Google Books.
5. Celtica. Institute for Advanced Studies. 5 November 1990. ISBN 9781855001398 – via Google Books.
6. "An Baile Riabhach". www.corcadhuibhne3d.ie.
7. Ireland, Royal Society of Antiquaries of (5 November 1988). "Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland" – via Google Books.
8. Barrington, T. J. (5 November 1999). Discovering Kerry: Its History, Heritage & Topography. Collins Press. ISBN 9781898256717 – via Google Books.
9. "St Manchan's Oratory, Ballymorereagh Early Christian Site, Kerry".
10. "Ogham in 3D - Ballymorereagh / 170. Ballymorereagh". ogham.celt.dias.ie.
11. GoKerry.ie. "An Baile Riabhach - Teampall Mhancháin nó an Teampall Geal, Archaeological Sites, monastic site, ogham stone, church, Ventry". www.gokerry.ie.
12. "CISP - BLYGH/1". www.ucl.ac.uk.