Gallarus Oratory 4.21

The Gallarus Oratory NameThere exist several interpretations as to the origin and meaning of the Irish placename Gallarus. Archaeologist Peter Harbison ventures the meaning to be something like "the house or shelter for foreigner(s)" (Gall Aras), the said foreigners being possibly "these pilgrims that have come from outside the Peninsula."However, according to lexicologist Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha (aka An Seabhach), the name does not refer to a foreign settlement but to a rocky headland (Gall-iorrus).ArchitectureMaterialThe oratory is built of large cut stones from the Dingle Beds of the Upper Silurian Old Red Sandstone. Charles Smith, who discovered the edifice in 1756, described the stone as "a brown free-stone, brought from the cliffs of the sea shore, which cuts readily and is very durable."MasonryThe stones are cut on every side and end so as to fit perfectly together. They exhibit smoothly finished outside facings that follow the slant of the wall.The edifice is usually thought to have been built without mortar, but there is evidence that even if mortar "was never visible in the wall facings it was used as a structural medium for the interior of the wall at least." A thin layer of lime mortar is used to bond the stones together and to fill in small hollows in the inner faces.MorphologyThe oratory’s shape has been compared to that of an upturned boat because of its sloping side walls. The edifice uses corbel vaulting. The stones are positioned on each course with their edges projecting inward by a small increment as the wall rise. Besides, they are laid at a slight angle, lower on the outside than on the inside, thus allowing rainwater to run off. Both techniques can still be seen in the modern agricultural clocháns of the Dingle peninsula.