Praying the Keeills Week 2023
20th – 27th May
Welcome to
Praying the Keeills - on the Isle of Man
PRAYING THE KEEILLS week 2023. Saturday 20th - Saturday 27th May 2023.
The programme for 2023 is now available to download through this link: 2023 Praying the Keeills leaflet
Copies of the leaflet are also available in churches around the Island. We hope you will be able to join in person to share together as we journey on foot, by car and public transport visiting keeills and exploring other sacred sites, learning about our Celtic and spiritual heritage and sharing fun and fellowship. Follow us on Facebook.
Bannaghtyn/Blessings
What's on during Praying the Keeills week in 2023? Details will be added here!
Related events throughout the year
The ancient keeill sites are often found in areas of particular natural beauty and in such surroundings it is a common experience to sense something of the presence of God. Why not set aside some time to join in this special week?
2020 will be our 15th successive year! We are planning a variety of events across the Island, including day-time and evenings walks of varied lengths, music, an evening coach trip, refreshments, and lots of fellowship. For those with lots of energy, the week will begin and end with all-day walks!
Keeill sites on the Isle of Man
Keeills served a variety of purposes - family chapels, wayside shrines, places of retreat and hermitage. There have perhaps been as many as 250, but remains, or known sites, survive for less than half this number.
The keeills were small buildings of earth and stone, very rarely bigger than 3 metres by 5 metres internally, and now survive to a height of less than a metre.
None of the remains can be shown to be older than the eighth century, but the sites and burials can date back to the sixth century, or earlier. If you have a favourite keeill and it's not shown here, let us know!
