RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

2.0 UNDERSTANDING THE PLACERahan monastery supported the church of Cluain da Chraind, which, according to the Life of Colman of Lynally,was first occupied in the sixth century by Duineacha, the son of the king of Fir Chell. 12 A local place-name in thevicinity of Rahan preserves the folk memory of a hermitage that belonged to one of his monks. A field in thegrounds of the Jesuit College has long been known locally as the Crann Field. 13Accounts of the monastery refer to several crosses associated with the community of monks at Rahan. Oneaccount of the saint’s life tells of how Carthage spoke to the dead in the cemetery of Rahan, saying — I will comeon the Judgement Day with all my monks to the Cross of Constantine in front of the Church. 14 Another story refersto the Cross of Ua Suanaig 15 that was located in the townland of Roscore near Rahan. According to the LeabharBreac this cross was also known as the Cross of the Satirists (poets) and was the scene of a murder carried outby Máel-Bresail, son of Fland Léna, against a band of poets who were under the protection of Húa Suanaig whodeclared that the land where the murder was carried out in Ross Corr [Roscore] was to becomepart of the lands of the monastery of St Mochutu. 16 None of the crosses referred to in theseaccounts survive. Built either of timber or stone, it is clear that they marked important locationswithin and outside the monastery. The Cross of Ua Suanaig in Roscore may have acted as aboundary marker for the lands of Rahan monastery, while the Cross of the Angels and the Crossof Constantine within the monastery could have been assembly points for the monks within theCity of Refuge. The Martryology of Oengus lists the 11th of March as the day for commemoratingConstantine King of Rathen. 17 According to this document, Constantine was the — successor ofMochutu of Rathen in Delbna Ethra in Meath, a king of Britain, who left his realm and came on hispilgrimage to Rathen in the time of Mochutu. According to this account, it was Constantine whomarked out the church of Rathen, and dug its dyke, and bettered Cepach Cusantín (Constantine’sPlot) to the south of Rathen. 18During the twelfth century the monastery of Rahan may have adopted the rule of St Augustine aspart of the general reformation of the monasteries in Ireland. Between the years 1200-1400 AD,Figure 16. Line drawing of 17thcentury graveslab built into theinner face of the nave’s northwall.Figure 17. Artist’simpression of 12thcentury nave andchancel church (PaulFrancis).28