Inchagoill Island

Just 10 metres or so to the south-west of Teampall Phadraig stands the Luguaedon Stone. This small pillar stone measures just under 1m tall, and it has seven small equal-armed crosses carved on it, with two each on the south, west and eastern face, and one on the northern face. The Luguaedon Stone is famous for its early inscription in early Latin in the Insular half-uncial script. The inscription reads LIE LUGUAEDON MACCI MENUEH, that may be translated to THE STONE OF LUGUAEDON, SON OF MENUEH. According to the EMILI: Early Medieval Irish Latinate Inscriptions Project, the name Luguaedon may be a compound of two personal names: Lug, divine name, and Áed ‘fire’. This inscription may date to as early as the 6th century and can lay credible claim to being the oldest surviving Irish ‘text’ written in the Latin alphabet. Who Luguaedon actually was is certainly of interest. A traditional tale states that he was a nephew of St Patrick, or alternatively that he served as Patrick’s navigator through Ireland. The stone is likely to have been moved some time ago from its original setting to serve as a grave marker, though its original position on the island is unknown.

Teampall na Naomh consists of a nave and chancel, with a plain chancel arch and an ornate 12th century Romanesque doorway in the western wall. The antiquarian and artist George Victor Du Noyer (1817–69) visited Inchagoill and produced a number of illustrations. His illustration of the Romanesque doorway is particularly important, and you can see it here. He illustrated it shortly before it was restored and reconstructed by the Guinness family, who had become owners of the island when they purchased Ashford Castle and its estates. His illustration ‘reconstructs’ the ruined doorway, through his examination of all the architectural fragments on site. It is quite different from the physically reconstructed doorway that we can see today, with Du Noyer’s version perhaps being more true to how the doorway likely originally appeared when the church was in use. William Wakeman also illustrated the doorway prior to the reconstruction, showing how it looked when it was a ruin, and you can see that illustration here. There is also a fine cross slab inside Teampall na Naomh, embedded into the southern wall, presumably moved here when the renovations commissioned by the Guinness family were underway. This slab would once have marked the grave of an abbot or monk from the early monastery, and may date to around the 10th century.

There are a number of other historic features to seek out on Inchagoill Island. These include three bullaun stones, one set into the altar of Teampall na Naomh, and within the graveyard you can see more pillar stones, though these are largely plain and undecorated in contrast to the Luguaedon Stone. Around 250 metres south-east of Teampall na Naomh, you can find a small holy well known as Tobar na Naomh (the well of the saints), though it is largely dried up today. You can also find the ruined cottages of the islanders who called Inchagoill home. The last resident was Tommy Nevin, who served as the caretaker of the island for the Guinness family, who left the island in 1938. Today it lies largely silent, except for the birdsong and the occasional boatload of visitors. It is a hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric place, with a palpable sense of history.