churches historical galway

Only one wall and a ruined west gable are left of this possibly medieval church. Next to this ruin is a very old graveyard, possibly medieval or later, which has also been used in more recent times as a children's burial ground.

What looks like a mere jumble of stones begins to take on a pattern the more carefully it is examined....

This is a 12th century church half buried in sand-dunes on the Southern end of the island, surrounded by a graveyard said to contain the remains of 120 saints....

Dominated by St. Kierons statue, an enclosure is made by the positioning of several large stones, possibly the remnants of a vanished megalithic tomb. The shrine was the site of an all night vigil on the last Sunday in July, culminating with a Feis at Tracht....

This church is also known as the church of Repatriation. It was built byb the Bellew's after one of the family members was killed in a duel, and therefore could not be buried in consecrated grounds. The church was built incorporating a burial vault for members of the Bellew family....

Not the usual - Mass rock - this altar has been venerated in the area for a very long time. Originally a flagged path led to it.
According to local tradition and folklore studies, there was long ago a - college - near the site and the students most likely monks, were killed during Cromwellian times, and their heads thrown into a nearby chasm....

The original monastery situated about 6.5km north-east of Eyrecourt was said to be founded by Saint Brendan the Navigator in 563. It was twice destroyed by the Vikings, and four times by fire, between 844 and 1179.

It became a diocesan see and Augustinian priory in the 12th century. Its doorway, dating from 1160/70, is not withstanding the later limestone attempt at - restoration - a striking example of Irish Romanesque decorative work in sandstone....

Situated 3 miles south of Eyrecourt, this church is the re-roofed nave of the 17th century Franciscan Friary....

A roughly square enclosure surrounded by a 6 ft high wall having, at two opposing corners, rounded bastions with arrow-slits. Remains of the gateway to the enclosure are preserved.
The wall resembles castle bawns, but inside, instead of a tower, there are just the remains of one central rectangular house and a number of subsidiary rectangular buildings.

Nothing is known about the history of the place, but it was possibly built by a retainer of the de Burgs as a fortified homestead...

The saint's festival is on 16 July, when pilgrims come to the island from the mainland. The saint was venerated so much by sailors that they lowered their sails in his honour when they passed the island. The church is a small rectangular structure built of very large stones. It has a flat-headed doorway and a round-headed east window.

The most unusual feature of this church is that the antae continue right up the gable and meet at the top, thus suggesting that this is a feature copie...

The monastery was founded early in the 7th century by St. Colman son of Duagh, a member of one of the local royal families. It has one of the finest collections of churches in Ireland. The most conspicuous feature is the excellently preserved Round Tower which shares a lean with its more famous counterpart at Pisa.
br> Beside it is the Cathedral, of which the west gable, with its blocked-up flat-headed doorway (11th - 12th century), is the earliest part. The rest of the nave dates largely...