Templesaghtmacree is an Early Christian church and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located on

Inishmaan Inishmaan ( ; ga, Inis Meáin , the official name, formerly spelled , meaning "middle island") is the middle of the three main Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of County Galway in the p ...

, Ireland.

Location

Templesaghtmacree is located right in the centre of

, the middle Aran Island. It is directly east of the modern

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church, the Church of Our Lady and St John.

History

The name is derived from the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

, meaning "Church of the Seven King's Sons," commemorating seven men of royal birth who came to Inishmaan as hermits. It was formerly a site of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Church

A rectangular stone church measuring by , only the bases of the walls survive. A doorway and window are in the south wall. It also contains Leaba Cinndeirge ("Cinndeirg's bed"), a grave of an obscure female saint with a cross slab. Tobar Cinndeirge, a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

, is nearby.

References

{{Reflist Aran Islands Former churches in County Galway Archaeological sites in County Galway National monuments in County Galway