temple benen

A diminutive early church or oratory, prominently situated on a bare limestone ridge above the village of Killeany on Inishmore, largest of the three Aran Islands in Galway bay. It takes its name from a fifth-century saint, Benen or Benignus, but is later than his time.

It is however of considerable antiquity and several of its features are indicative of a date possibly in the eight or ninth century: the steeply pitched gables, narrow trabeate doorway with inclined jambs, and the exceptional size of the stones in the side walls. The interior is only 7 feet wide.

There are traces of clochans and other monastic remains in the vicinity, including the base of a Round Tower which collapsed in the nineteenth century.