27 November 2022

Oratory

 

In the summer of 1974, I made a grand tour of Ireland. It took me six weeks. Mostly I slept in the tent that I carried upon my back but sometimes I shelled out for youth hostels and three or four times I paid for B&B accommodation. I got around by simply walking or hitch-hiking. I didn't have much money.

I remember reaching The Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry and though I don't recall my exact route, I left  the town of Dingle, heading north for two or three miles. That's when, purely by chance, I came across the structure shown above - Gallarus Oratory.

This enigmatic building was more or less overlooked by scholars until the mid-eighteenth century. It is likely that it was once  a simple church - exquisitely built perhaps as early as the tenth century. It may have been part of a monastic settlement.

I was alone but then I saw another figure tramping along the lane. He was a Canadian visitor - also a university student of a similar age to me. I don't recall his name but we shared our reactions to the oratory and I remember he became my intermittent travelling companion until we reached Cork City in the next county.

It was a balmy summer. I hardly felt any of the rain that gives The Emerald Isle its name. This was the first time I had ever visited Ireland and I loved it. Though it was just next door to the island of Britain, it seemed so different. 

The people spoke English but they were different from the English. They appeared to have more time for strangers and were arguably more attuned to ancient notions. At least it seemed that way. One-upmanship was pointless and they enjoyed the "craic" - people getting on happily with each other.

I still have many memories of that tour. They endure after almost fifty years and one of them is of my unplanned visit to  Gallarus Oratory - so perfectly constructed, like an overturned boat made with carefully placed  stones - like a 3D jigsaw puzzle.

35 comments:

  1. At that time many young people traveled on shoe string. the Micro Manager did Europe on $5.00 a day.

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  2. Built to withstand the centuries!

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    1. No mortar or cement between the stones. They held each other in position.

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  3. The Oratory is beautiful, did you go inside and see what your voice would sound like in there? Resonating musically like a church or more echoing would be my guess. Surely a voice wouldn't sound flat and dull in such a chamber?

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    1. I did go inside but instead of echoing, the stones deadened my voice.

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  4. Beauty in its simplicity, yet obviously built with great care and skill. Irish people always seem to be good company.

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  5. It is certainly an intriguing place, wonderfully constructed and steeped in mystery and history.
    Although my husband's family originally came from Ireland (back then their family name was O'Reilly, later changed to Riley to look "less Irish" at a time when Irish immigrants were not everybody's favourite people), I have never visited the island but always wanted to. Maybe one day I'll manage to fit in a trip.

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    1. You should. Maybe OK could go with you or your sister. Having a car would be useful for getting around.

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  6. I also did a grand tour of Ireland. Must have been 1967. I was with my then boyfriend and we hitchhiked and stayed in youth hostels. I remember that the " mattresses" in the hostel in the Donegal area were made of straw and we got bitten to death by some sort of insect that night. Giant's Causeway was visited. At the hostel near Cork, we had to sleep on the floor in a circular room as it was so full. Heads to the outside, feet in the middle. The Blarney Stone was kissed and I don't remember much else apart from the bleakness of the countryside in the West, and water from a well near Galway. An old kettle was the method to bring the water up!

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    1. I am pleased that this post helped to conjure up those sweet memories Frances.

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  7. What an unusual building. No window openings? It must be very dark in there.

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    1. There is a small window at the unseen end of the building - opposite the door.

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  8. That was one place I never got to visit this summer. I have visited many bee hive huts in Kerry. Another photo for our drystone wall appreciation society

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    1. Perhaps it was massage room for tired stone-wallers.

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  9. The Oratory is in remarkable condition - it looks as though it's just been built.

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    1. I guess that it has enjoyed some restorative work.

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  10. You should go back, with more cash for hotels, and retrace. I was in Ireland in March of 2020, that ended interestingly.

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    1. You must have been there at the very time that COVID came to join us.

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  11. That 'church' looks both primitive and modern. Love it.

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    1. I know that architecture is one of your top things Bob so your reaction doesn't surprise me.

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  12. I don't think it could have been a church- too dark. Church is theater and there is no theater without light. But what an incredible structure! Did you take that photo? The rainbow...

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    1. I did not take a camera on that trip. I just found that photo trough a Google image search.

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  13. What a fascinating building; it looks very well preserved. Did you kiss the Blarney Stone during your tour?

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    1. I have kissed the Blarney Stone but not on that trip.

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  14. That's so interesting! I like how there's a bit of rainbow in your photo. Talented builders working so carefully with rocks! I am glad that it looks like the site is well cared for.

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    1. There were several similar small churches in south western Ireland but this is the best preserved.

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  15. Ireland is on my bucket lists, I still have family living there. What a beautiful building, whatever it's original purpose.

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    1. Experts seem to agree that it was a church.

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  16. That is beautiful. I can't even comprehend the hours of labour and muscle power that went into constructing that building. I always marvel at the stone walls made by the original farmers in Canada. Where did they find the time?

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    1. We have hundreds of miles of stone walling in this region of England. To me it is an accidental art form. So beautiful.

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  17. Many a time I have wished I had explored the world more when I was young, penniless and solo.

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    1. I did my fair share but there were many other places I would have loved to visit.

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  18. We haven't yet been to Ireland but it's on our list!

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