Gallarus Oratory, Dingle (must see)

The Gallarus Oratory, known as Séipéilín Ghallarais in Irish, is a captivating chapel located on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The meaning of the name "Gallarus" has sparked various interpretations, with some suggesting it refers to a rocky headland (Gall-iorrus) and others proposing it signifies a "house or shelter for foreigner(s)" (Gall Aras). The oratory overlooks the harbor at Ard na Caithne, which was formerly called Smerwick.

Throughout history, the Gallarus Oratory has been described differently by scholars and researchers. Antiquary Charles Smith presented it as an early-Christian stone church in 1756. Archaeologist Peter Harbison later suggested it was a 12th-century Romanesque church in 1970 and later considered it to be a shelter for pilgrims in 1994. Additionally, local tradition during Smith's time attributed the construction of the oratory to Griffith More, who supposedly built it as a funerary chapel for his family's burial place.

The oratory stands as a solitary and well-preserved example of its kind, attracting significant attention since its discovery by Charles Smith in the 18th century. Its construction materials consist of large cut stones sourced from the Dingle Beds of the Upper Silurian Old Red Sandstone. Smith described these stones as "a brown free-stone, brought from the cliffs of the sea shore, which cuts readily and is very durable."

The stones are precisely cut on all sides and ends, fitting together seamlessly to create the structure. The exterior facings of the stones exhibit a smooth finish that follows the slant of the walls. While it is commonly believed that the oratory was constructed without mortar, evidence suggests that while mortar may not have been visible in the wall facings, it was used as a structural medium within the interior of the walls. A thin layer of lime mortar was applied to bond the stones and fill small hollows in the inner faces.