ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a synthesis of the results of the excavations, particularly those that relate to the initial development and chronology of the site, for these cast light on the earliest phase of Christianity in Ireland. It must be noted that the post-excavation analyses of the site are not yet completed, and consequently the interpretation of the results offered here is, by necessity, provisional in nature. The results of the excavation of the Caherlehillan church are important for two reasons: firstly, its early date, and secondly, because its features contribute towards understanding of aspects of early medieval liturgical practice in Ireland. Caherlehillan is located towards the western end of the Iveragh peninsula, at the north side of a valley formed by the Mullaghnarakill and Teeromoyle mountains. The occurrence of a flabellum in association with a peacock on the Caherlehillan slab is of some importance, in that the entire iconographical background of the arrangement is of Mediterranean origin.
