Aharla, Eoghanacht, Co. Galway

Co. Galway |

Holy Sites & Wells

Aharla, Eoghanacht, Co. Galway

On the Aran Islands, a small drystone enclosure sits on a low bluff to the south of Teampall BhreacƔin, and inside it, resting on a plinth, lie the broken fragments of a high cross known as the South Cross.

The enclosure is barely larger than a generous room, measuring roughly 4.8 metres by 4.55 metres, yet it carries considerable weight. It is one of five leabaĆ­ associated with the early ecclesiastical complex here, a leaba being a grave-plot or saint's bed, the kind of enclosed sacred space where proximity to a holy person's resting place was believed to carry spiritual significance.

The site appears on the Ordnance Survey six-inch maps under the name Aharla, though the scholar Tim Robinson, writing in 1980, recorded the enclosure as Leaba BhreacƔin, linking it directly to Saint BreacƔn, the early medieval figure to whom Teampall BhreacƔin is dedicated. The cluster of five such leabaƭ around the two churches, Teampall BhreacƔin and Teampall an Phoill, points to a place that once drew considerable devotional attention. High crosses of the kind whose remains now lie here were typically large, elaborately carved stone monuments, and the fact that the South Cross has been reduced to fragments adds a quiet melancholy to what is already a contemplative space. Gosling documented the site in 1993, placing it within a broader survey of the region's early Christian monuments.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Aharla, Eoghanacht, Co. Galway. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement