2 Best Sights in Baile an Fheirteaigh (Ballyferriter), The Southwest

One of Ireland's most interesting sights is also one of the country's best-preserved early Christian churches. Gallarus Oratory dates from the 7th or 8th century and ingeniously makes use of corbeling—successive levels of stone projecting inward from both side walls until they meet at the top to form an unmortared roof. The structure is still watertight after more than 1,000 years.

This is one of the finest surviving examples of Romanesque architecture. Although the Christian settlement dates from the 7th century, the present structure was built in the 12th century. Native builders integrated foreign influences with their own traditions, keeping the blank arcades and round-headed windows but using stone roofs, sloping doorway jambs, and weirdly sculpted heads. Ogham stones and other interestingly carved, possibly pre-Christian stones are on display in the churchyard.