St. Gobnet's Church

St. Gobnet's Church is a medieval church and National Monument located on Inisheer, Ireland.^[2][3]

St. Gobnet's Church
St. Gobnait's Church, An Teampall Beag, Kilgobnet
Cill Ghobnait
St. Gobnet's Church
53.065908°N 9.529201°W / 53.065908; -9.529201
Location	Inisheer, County Galway
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Pre-Reformation Catholic
History
Founded	6th century
Founder(s)	Gobnait
Architecture
Functional status	inactive
Years built	c. 1100[1]
Specifications
Materials	limestone
Administration
Diocese	Tuam
Designations National monument of Ireland Official name St. Gobnet's Church Reference no. 41.05

Location

St. Gobnet's Church is located in the northern part of Inisheer, in the Aran Islands.^[4]

History

The site is believed to have been in use since the 6th century. According to traditional tales, Saint Gobnait fled from County Clare to Inisheer to escape a family feud. Later, an angel appeared to her and told her to return to the mainland and go south until she saw nine white deer; she settled at Ballyvourney and built a religious community.^[5] The remains of her beehive hut are said to be on Inisheer. The stone church was built in the 11th or 12th century.^[6]

The church was excavated in 1980 by W. Walsh.^[7]

Church

North window

A rectangular stone church. The remains of a beehive hut are visible; there are also two bullaun stones and three raised stone slabs.^[8]