This ancient dwelling is one of three hut sites found amongst an extraordinary collection of 26 penitential cairns, all located roughly 60 metres west of Hugh Mac Brick’s Church. Together, these structures form part of a larger pilgrimage complex that drew the faithful to this dramatic mountaintop overlooking the valley below.

The hut itself is roughly circular in shape, with internal dimensions measuring just 1.15 by 1.6 metres; barely enough space for a single person to shelter from the harsh Atlantic weather that frequently batters these heights. Today, only the lower courses of its drystone walls remain standing, constructed without mortar in the traditional Irish building technique that has endured for millennia. What appears to be a doorway faces west, though centuries of exposure to the elements have left the structure in a fragmentary state.

This site at An Baile Mór represents one of Ireland’s many high mountain pilgrimage traditions, where the faithful would undertake arduous climbs to remote locations as acts of penance and devotion. The presence of multiple huts suggests this wasn’t a solitary endeavour; rather, it was a communal religious practice that likely peaked during the medieval period when such mountaintop pilgrimages were particularly popular throughout the Irish landscape.