O'Brennan Church

Site of medieval parish church within O'Brennan graveyard (KE030-018001-) in the townland of Crag, Parish of O'Brennan (Uamh Bréanainn), Diocese of Ardfert, Barony of Trughanacmy. In 1302 the papal taxation of the Deanery of Othorna and Offlannan in the Diocese of Ardfert valued the 'Church of St. Brandan's Cave' at 10s per annum with the tithe valued at 12d. (Cal. doc. Ire., Vol. 5, 296). In 1493 there is a reference to the cleric, Geraldus Stack and the parish church of 'Antro Sancti Berardini [recte Brandani] (O'Connell and Costello 1958, 39). The following year in 1494 there is a reference to Nicholas Ohuran, presbyter of Ardfert and the parish church of 'Antro Sancti Brandani' (ibid., 41). In 1517 the tithes were collected from the church of 'Antro Sancti Brandani' by Mauritius Oconcuor, presbyter of Ardfert (ibid., 48). The Royal Visitation of 1615 described this church as the 'The Rectory of Brenan' (Murphy 1915, 183).

In 2010 a graveyard survey carried out by Laurence Dunne recorded the following details: 'O’Brennan / O Braonainn translates as Uaimh Bhreannán or Brendan’s Cave, that was named after St. Brendan the patron saint of Kerry. Apparently in 494AD St. Brendan, as a boy of ten, was sent to stay overnight by his foster-father St. Erc in the cave as a penance for some misdemeanour (Ua Riogbhardáin and Ua Ciarrbhaic 1932, 14). The Rev. Denis O’Donoghue who wrote the seminal work Brendaniana in 1893 records…The spot became the site of a parish church now called O’Brennan (the ‘O’ representing the Irish ‘Uaimh’), where there are the ruins of an ancient church and a large and much used graveyard. The cave itself was preserved with religious care through many centuries and a little nunnery was built and maintained close beside it…there is no trace now remaining of the little convent and even the venerable cave itself cannot be identified with any certainty. It appears that some vandal, who wanted stones, quarried into the cave some forty or fifty years ago and destroyed almost every vestige of it (O’Donoghue, 1893). There is no remains of this cave today however, there is a large distinct depressed area at the north east corner of the graveyard that may reflect this cave. In 1368 the rector of St. Brandan de Antro was John de Geraldines (King 1931, 259). Charles Smith records in 1756 ...O’Brenane, an entire rectory, the church in ruins. Patron: the bishop, Proxy 10s (Smith 1756, 39). There were no remains of the church when the site was inspected by John O’Donovan in July 1841 (O’Donovan 1983, 63).

In the course of this survey the possible outline of a building were recorded. These comprised a low northern and western outline of a possible rectangular structure situated on a bumpy platform area surrounded by several tombs and with a distinct E-W orientation. Within this area the ground is overgrown with deep grass, briars and is collapsed and dangerous and therefore not possible in the course of this survey to determine with any certainty the nature of this structure'.