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All Ireland Teampall Bheanáin
AO Edited

Teampall Bheanáin

A diminutive, thousand-year-old church believed to be the smallest in Ireland.

Killeany, Ireland

Added By
Eli Anderson
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Teampall Bheanáin   ecanderson06 / Atlas Obscura User
Teampall Bheanáin   ecanderson06 / Atlas Obscura User
Teampall Bheanáin from afar.   ecanderson06 / Atlas Obscura User
Inside Teampall Bheanáin, looking out the entrance.   ecanderson06 / Atlas Obscura User
The entryway to Teampall Bheanáin.   ecanderson06 / Atlas Obscura User
Hiking up to Teampall Bheanáin, with the church itself visible at the top of the hill.   ecanderson06 / Atlas Obscura User
Teampall Bheanáin at sunrise   Cadbytim/CC BY-SA 4.0
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About

On an island off Ireland’s western coast, perched high atop a hill, sits an 11th-century church not much larger than a car parking space.

Teampall Bheanáin (Benan’s Temple) is a tiny oratory in the village of Killeany, on Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Ireland. Measuring 15 feet by 11 feet (3.2 by 2.1 meters), it is considered by some to be the smallest church in Ireland. A Google search for the “smallest church in Ireland” will likely explain that Costello Chapel in County Leitrim holds the title, but that church measures 16 feet by 12 feet — 27 square feet larger than Teampall Bheanáin.

Roofless with 15-foot-tall gables, Teampall Bheanáin has a unique prominence for its size, enhanced by elevation and a lack of trees or tall vegetation on the island. It has thick stone walls, a short and narrow keyhole-shaped entrance, and one small window facing the Irish mainland.

Though the church dates to the 11th century, it is part of a larger Early Christian monastery founded by St. Enda in the sixth century. Near Teampall Bheanáin are remnants of a cashel wall and foundations of clochán-style (beehive hut) dwellings. Down the hill are further remains of a round tower and Celtic cross.

Too small to have been a congregational church, it is assumed to be a tomb shrine of St. Benan (Benignus of Armagh), a favorite disciple of St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. A placard on the church notes its unusual north-south orientation, which strays from the common east-west axis of most religious structures.

Teampall Bheanáin can be reached on foot via a 1.25-mile (2-km) trail, which is somewhat nondescript and passes through cow pastures. The trailhead is marked by a signpost just off “The Cottages,” which is the main road linking Killeany to the rest of the island.

Related Tags

History & Culture Ruins Celtic Churches

Know Before You Go

Unfortunately, due to the rugged trail/terrain leading to Teampall Bheanáin and the church's small entrance, it may not be accessible to all.

Community Contributors

Added By

ecanderson06

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

December 8, 2021

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teampall_Bhean%C3%A1in
  • "Teampall Bhean’in (St Benan’s Church)." Official Guide to the Aran Islands: https://www.aranislands.ie/inis-mor-inishmore-island/inis-mor-island-churches-celtic-sites/eampall-bheanin-st-benan-s-church
  • "St. Benan's Church (Teampall Bheanain), County Galway (Aran Islands), Ireland." Saints and Stones: http://www.saintsandstones.net/saints-bheanain-journey.htm
  • "Temple Benan, Inismor, Aran." Irish Antiquities: http://irishantiquities.bravehost.com/galway/inismor/templebenan.html
Teampall Bheanáin
Killeany
Ireland
53.102386, -9.666147

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