Gallarus Oratory

The amazing chapel at Galarus is built without mortar

The Gallarus Oratory is an early Christian church or chapel situated at the end of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The guide books lists it as free entry, but all the signposts direct you to a visitor centre which is not free. A little bit of scouting around will take you direct to the oratory, but then you miss out on the visitor centre, which is quite good as visitor centres go.

Like so many early buildings in Ireland, the oratory is built with a corbelled roof - though in this case it is all roof! From the lowest course of stones, each course is set back slightly from the one below it so that gradually the width of the building narrows until the walls meet at a point. In addition, the stones slope every so slightly down towards the outside of the wall, which also encourages the rain to run off. The result is a very stable structure that has remained dry for 1,200 years or more.

Outside there is a small stone cross on which is inscribed the words COLUM MAC DINET, which may mean "Colum son of Dinet". It is possible, therefore, that this small chapel was built in memory of Colum, so that a priest could chant masses for the deliverance of his soul from purgatory.