RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

2.0 UNDERSTANDING THE PLACENineteenth CenturyA Map of the Part of the Bogs of Allen within the King’sCounty in Ireland together with Adjacent County fromActual Survey by William Larkin dated 1809 shows thesite with a roofed church and a neighbouring featureidentified as ‘Church Ruins’.A brief but valuable reference to Rahan occurs in theTopographical Dictionary by Samuel Lewis published in1837. In this Lewis notes that:. . . the land, though varying greatly in quality,is in general good and in a profitable state ofcultivation. Limestone is quarried for building andagricultural purposes, and there is an adequatequantity of bog. 20He went on to comment about the glebe house andchurch:The glebe-house was built in 1817, at an expenseof £500, of which £450 was a gift and £50 a loanfrom the late Board of First Fruits. The Church whichis annexed to the curacy, is a small edifice, erectedin 1732, and the Ecclesiastical Commissionershave recently granted £166 for its repair. 21Plate 8. 19th century brick window inserted into north wallof nave.This level of expenditure in the building stock of theChurch of Ireland during the early nineteenth centuryrepresents a significant investment in the Parish of Rahan. Of particular interest are the comparative sums quotedfor the construction of a new glebe house and repairing the church. At a cost equating to one third of the price ofconstructing a new glebe house, the repairs to the church at that time must have been significant. It is also likelythat this was the first major programme of work for just over 100 years since the previous works in 1732.The 1838 Ordnance Survey of Rahan depicts the Church of St Carthach as rectangular in plan with a flankingporticus or side-chapel to the north and south of the chancel. The church is approached from the west by a curvedavenue and a graveyard is enclosed to the south. The Abbey in ruins is shown to the east of the church with anotherrectangular structure shown to the south. The river Clodiagh is depicted with a number of millraces, some ofwhich are within the monastic enclosure. To the north of the river, Rahan Catholic College is depicted within itsown grounds and Rahan National School on the western boundary. Rahan Bridge and Bridge House are depictedto the west of the monastic enclosure and a walled garden is depicted to the south of Bridge House.30Figure 18. William Larkin’s map of King’s County, 1809.