Kilmalkedar is a 10-acre early Christian and medieval complex on the Dingle Peninsula, set above Smerwick Harbour with a 12th-century Hiberno-Romanesque church, a holed ogham stone, an early medieval sundial and a historic graveyard. It sits on the Cosán na Naomh pilgrimage route and is free to visit all year round.
The roofless nave-and-chancel church, built around 1134 and possibly by the mason of Cormac's Chapel at Cashel, is one of Ireland's first Hiberno-Romanesque buildings. Look for the three-order west doorway with zig-zag carving and a human head, blind arcading inside, and carved animal head stops at the eaves.
In the graveyard stands a holed ogham stone, probably late 6th or early 7th century, inscribed ANM MAILE INBIR MACI BROCANN ('the soul of Mael-Inbir, son of Brocán'), the earliest evidence of activity on the site.
A plain Latin cross over 2m tall stands near the ogham stone; it may be 12th century, and 1.8m more of its shaft lies buried below the current ground level.
One of only about nine early medieval sundials in Ireland. Its semi-circular head is divided into four sectors around a hole that once held a shadow-casting rod; the reverse bears a marigold cross motif.
Inside the church beside the chancel arch, this pillar stone (possibly 6th-7th century) bears the letters DNI, a contraction of 'Domini' (Lord), with a Latin cross.
In use since the site's foundation, the graveyard holds 18th- and 19th-century graves, medieval graveslabs and two small Tau crosses, with views over the surrounding countryside.
Across the stream, this three-storey late medieval priest's house is fringed with fuchsia. It is currently gated and not accessible, but you can view it from outside; St Brendan's Well lies nearby, with a second holy well across the road.
The church anchors the Saints' Road pilgrimage route that climbs to the summit of Mount Brandon. The site is a state-owned National Monument in the care of the OPW, overlooking Smerwick Harbour on the Slea Head Drive loop.
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