ABSTRACT
Peter Harbison, in his important article of 1970, helped to place the drystone corbelled churches in their proper chronological and spatial context, and in the process allowed pre-Romanesque Irish stone churches to be discussed independently of Gallarus. In scholarly work on pre-Romanesque stone churches in Ireland, the conclusion drawn is that, while they may date mainly between ad 900 and 1100, it is impossible to decide which ones are early and which late because of their simple plans and features and almost total lack of surviving decoration. Both of these features served the same purpose: that of supporting the end rafters or barge-boards of a roof, which was carried over the gables. It is the present writer's contention that a rough typology can be proposed, which is based primarily on these features and can be used in many cases to suggest a broad dating for mortared stone churches in Ireland within the period ad 900-c 1100.
