This modest hermitage measures just 3.75 metres east to west and 1.6 metres north to south, with walls rising to only 1.48 metres in height. The cell’s construction is ingeniously simple; builders used a natural rock face to form the southern and western walls, then added stone walls on the northern and eastern sides to complete the shelter. The eastern wall contains a low doorway, barely a metre high and just over half a metre wide, forcing visitors to stoop or crawl to enter this ancient retreat.

The roof consists of stone slabs, now covered with grass that helps it blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. Time and practicality have woven this medieval structure into the fabric of modern farming life, as it’s been incorporated into a contemporary field wall. Local tradition holds that a similar cell once stood nearby, though it has long since vanished, leaving only this solitary survivor to tell the story of early Christian hermits who sought solitude in this remote corner of County Donegal.

These small cells, or clocháns as they’re sometimes called, served as dwellings for monks and hermits during Ireland’s early Christian period, roughly from the 6th to 12th centuries. St. Faned, after whom this cell is named, was likely one of many holy men who chose the isolation of Glencolumbkille to pursue a life of prayer and contemplation, following in the footsteps of St. Columba himself, who gave his name to the valley.