This small stone structure, known locally as Cill Fhathnaid, ingeniously incorporates the natural rock face into its design, using the jagged stone as its southern and western walls. The cell measures just 3.75 metres east to west and 1.6 metres north to south internally; a compact space that speaks to the austere devotional practices of early Irish Christianity. Local historian Michael Herity suggested in 1971 that this might have been the site of a third pilgrimage round, or turas, dedicated to St. Faned, though sadly all traditions surrounding this practice have been lost to time.

The construction technique reveals the practical ingenuity of its builders, who worked with the landscape rather than against it. The natural rock face, which slopes inward, forms the foundation of the structure, whilst the northern and eastern walls were built using dry stone walling techniques. The north wall showcases crude but effective construction, featuring large, flat slabs with smaller stones filling the gaps between them. The entrance, positioned on the eastern wall, stands one metre high and just over half a metre wide, framed by carefully selected stones; the north jamb consists of squared, flat slabs whilst the south jamb employs two large, rounded boulders positioned end to end. A single lintel slab, measuring just over a metre in length, caps the doorway.

Today, the cell has been incorporated into a modern field boundary wall, with the external top of the structure sitting almost flush with the surrounding ground level on its southern and western sides. The roof construction employs large slabs with flat undersides that span between the rock face and the north wall, creating a weatherproof shelter. Despite its modest dimensions and the loss of its associated pilgrimage traditions, St. Faned’s Cell remains a tangible link to the valley’s religious past, situated in what is now good pasture land with commanding views over the eastern end of the Glencolumbkille valley floor.