About
An Riasc, the marshy place, lies beside a narrow minor road about 1.5 km east of Ballyferriter on the Dingle Peninsula, a short detour off the Slea Head Drive, on high ground with a good view north over Smerwick Harbour. Known locally as the Calluragh burial ground, this early Christian monastic site was probably founded in the fifth century, though nothing is known of its saints or abbots. Thomas Fanning excavated it for the OPW between 1972 and 1975: an oval enclosure of 45 by 43 metres within a cashel-type wall, divided internally between the small oratory, resembling Gallarus, with a slab shrine and an early graveyard, and the paired beehive huts, iron-working furnaces and corn-drying kiln. Sherds of sixth-century Roman amphorae show direct trade with the continent. At least ten cross-inscribed slabs stand here or in museums, the finest a 1.64-metre pillar carved with an encircled cross, spirals and the letters DNE. The site is free, unstaffed and open-air, with roadside space by the entrance.
Open in daylightFrom OPW Heritage Ireland's published times
- Open any reasonable time in daylight
Opening times may change at short notice.
An unguided open-air national monument in OPW's care with no published hours, no staff and no facilities. OPW warns that care and caution should be kept throughout a visit to its unguided sites.
A grass interior with low drystone walls, hut foundations and standing stones, and an information board; the site includes early burial grounds, so tread respectfully. No toilets.
Photo: Aerial view of the oval enclosure at Reask, with its internal wall and paired beehive huts beside the road. BlauweTas, CC BY 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_Reask_Monastic_site,_Ireland.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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