Overview
The monks who lived at Reask were trading with the Mediterranean. When Thomas Fanning excavated the site between 1972 and 1975 he turned up shards of Roman amphorae, the big jugs that carried wine, which puts this windswept enclosure on the Dingle Peninsula on a 6th-century sea route stretching most of the way across the old empire. From An Riasc, ‘the marshy place’, a low drystone wall now rings a patch of grass holding the foundations of an oratory, clocháns (beehive huts), a corn-drying kiln and two graveyards, with the Atlantic wind for company.
The one thing to fix your eye on is the Reask Stone: a tall pillar carved with spirals and the abbreviation DNE (for Domine, ‘Lord’), still standing exactly where the monks set it. Everything else here is low walls and outlines; the pillar is what you’ll remember.
History and archaeology
The community was founded in the 5th or 6th century, with the later end of that range the likelier. Fanning’s dig laid out how it worked: an oval cashel wall about 2.2 metres thick and a metre high; an oratory first built in timber, then rebuilt in stone; the clocháns where the monks slept; and a workshop with evidence of iron and bronze working. The Roman amphorae shards are the standout find, the clearest sign that a small monastery on the far west of Ireland was tied into long-distance trade.
The burials tell a longer story than the monastery. The early-medieval cemetery held around 42 graves in two rows beneath the oratory. Centuries later the ground was reused as a cillín, a burial place for unbaptised infants and others refused a churchyard, which is why the site is still known locally as the Calluragh Burial Ground. At least ten cross-inscribed slabs have been recorded here; some stand in place, others are now in Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, the West Kerry Museum in Ballyferriter.
What to see
- The oratory – on the eastern side of the enclosure, a small dry-stone building with a corbelled roof and a sunken area at the door that may have held a relic shrine.
- The clocháns – round stone huts, some grouped in pairs, their beehive profile a hallmark of early Irish monastic building.
- Cross-inscribed slabs – besides the Reask Stone, several carved stones stay on site; more from the area are displayed at the West Kerry Museum.
- The graveyards – a faint row of markers under the oratory for the early cemetery, and the less-defined later cillín.
- The corn-drying kiln – just outside the wall, a reminder that the monks fed themselves through the winter.
- Self-guided audio tour – the GPSmyCity app cues commentary as you pass each feature; local archaeological guides (Sciuird among them) also run private tours.
Give it 30 to 45 minutes to walk the perimeter and read the panels. Early morning or late afternoon light rakes across the carvings and is much better for photographs; on a flat, overcast day a torch held at an angle helps bring out the fainter marks.
Getting there and practical tips
- Admission: Free. It’s a National Monument in the care of the Office of Public Works, and there’s no one on site.
- Opening hours: Year-round, daylight hours.
- Parking: A small lay-by by the lane takes a few cars. The road is too narrow for coaches.
- Accessibility: The ground is uneven and reached by a grass path, which can be awkward for anyone with limited mobility.
- Care: Keep to the paths, stay off the ruins, and take your litter with you.
From Dingle town, drive west on the R559 and watch for the minor road signposted ‘Mainistir Riaisc’, just east of Bric’s pub (Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne) and about 2km east of Ballyferriter. The honest warning: the sign is small and genuinely easy to miss, so slow down as you near the pub. The site is roughly 1km east of the village, a short walk from the lay-by. No bus serves the lane, so come by car or bike.
Nearby attractions
Reask slots neatly between two better-known sites: Gallarus Oratory is about 2km west, and the stone fort of Cathair na bhFionnúrach sits over towards Mount Brandon. String those together with the West Kerry Museum and you have a solid half-day. The Gaeltacht village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, a kilometre off, has craft studios, pubs and the start of the Slea Head Drive, and the museum is worth a stop before or after to see what came out of the ground here.