Inis Uasal · Lough Currane
Church Island, the Island of the Nobles
A landing trip to a monastic island where the stones still hold their 6th-century stories.
The history
Inis Uasal — the Island of the Nobles — was originally known as Church Island and was a significant monastic site. Founded by Saint Fionán (or Finian) around the 6th century, much of the surviving structure dates from the 11th to 13th centuries. Fionán became patron saint of the Iveragh Peninsula, his feast day celebrated on March 16th. A 17th-century poem credits him with protecting the area from plague, and several holy wells in the region are dedicated to him.
The island holds the ruins of a Hiberno-Romanesque church, its doorway still standing. Cross slabs remain too, one dedicated to a hermit named Anamchada, who died in 1057. A unique carving of a man playing an early fiddle — echoing figures at Santiago de Compostela — adds to the island's historical significance.
At the opposite end stands Fionán's Cell, a beehive-shaped structure from a later period. A narrow passageway, recently discovered at the cell's southern end, aligns with the midwinter sunset and illuminates the interior — suggesting the monks may have woven older rituals into their architecture, adding another layer of spiritual meaning to the place.