St. Berrihert's Kyle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Berrihert's Kyle |
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| Native name Irish: Cill Bheircheirt |
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| Type | cross slabs, wheel crosses, high crosses and a cursing stone |
| Location | Ardane, Bansha, County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Area | Glen of Aherlow |
| Built | 7th–9th century; renovated 1946 |
| Official name: St. Berrihert's Kyle | |
| Reference no. | 396 |
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St. Berrihert's Kyle is a special old place in County Tipperary, Ireland. It's a National Monument, which means it's protected because it's important to history. Inside, you'll find many ancient stone carvings like cross slabs, wheel crosses, and high crosses. There's even a cursing stone!
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Where is St. Berrihert's Kyle?
St. Berrihert's Kyle is found in a beautiful area called the Glen of Aherlow. It sits at the bottom of the Galtee Mountains. You can find it about 4.5 kilometers (about 2.8 miles) southwest of a town called Bansha.
The Story of St. Berrihert
This special place is named after Saint Berrihert. He was a holy man from the Anglo-Saxon people. People believe he came to this area after a big meeting called the Synod of Whitby in the year 664 AD. Many monks from England came to Ireland around that time. This was because of disagreements about how to figure out the date of Easter.
St. Berrihert might be the same person as St. Berichter. St. Berichter was important at another old church site in Tullylease, County Cork. An old stone there has a name that sounds like an Irish version of Berrihert's name. Old records say that Berichter of Tullylease died on December 6, 839. Some think this date might be a mistake and it was actually 739. His special day is February 18.
Over time, many stone cross slabs and other monuments were placed here. The word "Kyle" comes from an Irish word, cill, which means "church." A medieval church used to stand right on this spot.
What You Can See at St. Berrihert's Kyle
St. Berrihert's Kyle is a stone area with many different old stone objects. You can see 72 stone slabs, pieces of a bullaun stone, and four wheel crosses. There's also the top and bottom parts of a high cross, and the top of a smaller cross. One slab even has an old, unfinished message carved into it.
It's thought that the stones from the old church walls might have been used to build other things. But the carved stones were seen as sacred, so they were left in their original place. The stone wall around the site today is not ancient. It was built more recently, in 1946, by the Office of Public Works.
St. Berrihert's Well
Close by, there is a holy well. It's a pool about 20 meters (about 65 feet) wide. People traditionally believed that the water from this well could help heal scalds and burns.
