Overview
The name comes from a cure. The story goes that a king’s seven daughters were healed at the holy well up the track, and this church, at the townland of Cashleen on the far-western edge of the Renvyle peninsula in County Galway, was built in thanks. The ruin looks out over the Atlantic to Inishbofin, Inishturk and Clare Island, with Croagh Patrick and Mweelrea on the skyline when the day is clear. It’s a short drive or walk from Renvyle village, and free to visit.
The legend of the seven sisters
Local tradition credits the church to a king grateful for his daughters’ recovery at the nearby well, though the accounts disagree on who: some say a Leinster king, others an Omey Island chief. Once cured, the sisters are said to have gone on to preach along the Connemara coast in the early medieval period.
The 17th-century historian Roderick O’Flaherty recorded a version in which the women were daughters of a British king. A 19th-century footnote to his work adds a darker thread: a ‘cursing stone’ once stood beside the holy well, until a parish priest removed and buried it, to considerable local resentment. The archaeologist Anthony Previté later suggested the sisters may have ended up on Mason Island, leaving a scatter of holy wells and place names behind them.
What survives
Three of the four walls still stand; the western one collapsed long ago, leaving the site open to the westerly wind and the ocean light. Through the north wall runs a well-preserved pointed-arch doorway that frames the horizon and makes the obvious focal point. The east wall holds a fine single-light window, with a broken stone altar on the ground beneath it. In the south wall is an ambry, the small recess that once held the vessels for Mass. Ordnance Survey maps list the ruin under both ‘Renvyle Church’ and ‘Church of the Seven Daughters’, a reminder that it’s both a local parish site and a piece of regional folklore. There’s another church dedicated to the same seven sisters on Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands.
The graveyard and holy well
The church sits in a hilly, partly overgrown old graveyard, uneven underfoot and dotted with weathered slabs, modest memorials and unmarked stones that families once knew by shape alone; an angel statue marks one of the more prominent plots. On flatter ground to the north, a modern cemetery keeps the site in use.
About 100 metres north of the ruin, at the bottom of the track, is the Well of the Seven Daughters, dedicated to the same sisters and long held to have healing properties. It’s easy to miss: these days it’s covered by a plain board rather than marked by any shrine, so it’s the setting, not the structure, that rewards the short walk down.
Getting there and visiting
By car – From Galway city, take the N59 west to the R336 and follow signs for Renvyle; the turn-off is signposted just beyond the village, with a small free car park by the ruins.
On foot – A marked, unpaved path leads from Renvyle village to the site, a short walk on a gentle incline that gets muddy in wet weather.
- Accessibility – The unpaved path and hilly graveyard are not wheelchair-friendly; visitors with limited mobility may prefer to view the site from the car park edge.
- Weather – This is an exposed Atlantic headland, so bring sturdy boots and a windproof layer whatever the forecast.
- Facilities – None on site. Toilets, a café and a shop are back in Renvyle village.
- Respect – The graveyard isn’t formally maintained; stay on the paths, don’t move memorials, and take your litter home.
Nearby
Connemara National Park, about 30 km east, has waymarked trails through the Twelve Bens and along Lough Pollacappul (see National Parks for guides). Inishbofin, a short ferry from the nearby harbour, adds ancient stone forts, coastal walks and a relaxed village if you want to make more of the day.
Time it for early morning or late afternoon: the low sun rakes across the stonework, and the north doorway frames the horizon cleanly.