Gallarus Oratory, Kilmalkedar and Mount Brandon
The single most impressive early Christian monument on the Dingle Peninsula is the Gallarus Oratory , around three miles east of Ballyferriter, signposted off the road to Murreagh. The most perfectly preserved of around twenty such oratories in Ireland, it looks almost too good to be true, though apparently it hasn't undergone any great restoration programmes. Though the oratory can't be dated with any great certainty, it's thought to have been built between the ninth and twelfth centuries (Christian architectural activity dates from the late sixth or early seventh century, but it wasn't until the ninth century that churches began to be built of stone rather than wood), and to represent a transition between the round beehive huts elsewhere on the peninsula and the later rectangular churches. The problem with this construction (and the reason why so many similar buildings have fallen down) is that the long sides tend to cave in - if you look carefully at the Gallarus Oratory, you can see it's beginning to happen here, too. The next architectural stage can be seen a mile to the north of here in the rectangular church at KILMALKEDAR . Its nave dates from the mid-twelfth century, and the corbelled stone roof was a direct improvement on the structure at Gallarus. The site marks the beginning of the Saint's Road, dedicated to St Brendan , patron saint of Kerry, which leads to the top of Mount Brandon - the route taken by pilgrims to St Brendan's shrine. If you want to follow this tough but historically resonant route up the mountainside, it's marked on the Ordnance Survey map number 70. Alternatively, there's a less challenging hike that skirts around the south of the mountain and leads to CLOGHANE , eight miles west of Stradbally, a tiny village flanked by lovely beaches. There's good bar food in the pubs, and you can stay at O'Connor's (tel 066/713 8113; GBP40-55/?50.79-69.84) or at Mount Brandon House hostel (tel 066/713 8299; all year) which has a family room as well as small dorms and space for camping.
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