| St. Gobnet's Church | |||||||
| Other Name: | St. Gobnait's Church, An Teampall Beag, Kilgobnet | ||||||
| Native Name: | Cill Ghobnait | ||||||
| Native Name Lang: | ga | ||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Ireland | ||||||
| Relief: | yes | ||||||
| Coordinates: | 53.0659°N -9.5292°W | ||||||
| Country: | Ireland | ||||||
| Denomination: | Pre-Reformation Catholic | ||||||
| Founded Date: | 6th century | ||||||
| Founder: | Gobnait | ||||||
| Functional Status: | inactive | ||||||
| Embedded: |
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| Years Built: | c. 1100[1] | ||||||
| Materials: | limestone | ||||||
| Diocese: | Tuam | ||||||
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]