St. Gobnet's Church

St. Gobnet's Church
St. Gobnait's Church, An Teampall Beag, Kilgobnet
Cill Ghobnait
St. Gobnet's Church
53°03′57″N 9°31′45″W / 53.065908°N 9.529201°W / 53.065908; -9.529201
Location	Inisheer, County Galway
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Pre-Reformation Catholic
History
Founded	6th century
Founder(s)	Gobnait
Architecture
Functional status	inactive
Years built	c. 1100[1]
Specifications
Materials	limestone
Administration
Diocese	Tuam
Designations National monument of Ireland Official name St. Gobnet's Church Reference no. 41.05

St. Gobnet's Church is a medieval church and National Monument located on Inisheer, Ireland.^[2][3]

St. Gobnet's Church is located in the northern part of Inisheer, in the Aran Islands.^[4]

The site is believed to have been in use since the 6th century. According to traditional tales, Saint Gobnait fled from County Clare to Inisheer to escape a family feud. Later, an angel appeared to her and told her to return to the mainland and go south until she saw nine white deer; she settled at Ballyvourney and built a religious community.^[5] The remains of her beehive hut are said to be on Inisheer. The stone church was built in the 11th or 12th century.^[6]

The church was excavated in 1980 by W. Walsh.^[7]

A rectangular stone church. The remains of a beehive hut are visible; there are also two bullaun stones and three raised stone slabs.^[8]