RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

3.0 PHYSICAL EVIDENCEThe inner reveal of the tall east window with its keel moulding dates from the early thirteenth century. Originallythis window reveal appears to have been painted (there are traces of a lime wash undercoat which may have beencovered with a layer of pinkish / reddish coloured paint). The external stone facing of this window was insertedinto the east gable by Martin in 1912. Above this window close to the apex of the gable, is a magnificent circularwindow dating from the twelfth century that may have been moved to this position from the west gable of thechurch as first suggested by Leask in 1938 (see Appendix 2). However, it is also possible that this window wasoriginally constructed to provide light for the twelfth century croft or could have been used as the main eastwindow providing light for the chancel. The insertion of the thirteenth century window into the east end of thechancel suggests that the stone vaulted floor of the croft was removed at an early date. The insertion of the tallthirteenth century east window made the mural stairs in the east gable redundant and also cut across the lowervaulted ceiling of the chancel which as a result had to be removed.Until recently, the upper stone vault forming the roof was generally thought to have been of twelfth centurydate. This upper stone vault appears to be a later replacement dating from the fifteenth century as it contains theimpression of wicker centring on the underside of the vault. The circular window was either already in place orwas inserted when this fifteenth century vault was constructed as the wicker centred vault has been constructedto accommodate the presence of this window in the apex of the east gable. It has also been suggested that thiswindow may have been inserted in reverse when it was re-set into the east gable of the church. 33 This appears tobe incorrect as the fifteenth century vault was clearly built to accommodate the circular window that was in itscurrent location by this date at the latest. During this period the window may have been inserted back to front ashas already been suggested. Within the county the pre-Romanesque church at Lynally monastery was extendedduring the fifteenth century when it became the parochial church of the new parish of Fir Chell.Inside the church is a well preserved triple-ordered chancel arch with capitals decorated with striking angle headsand interesting bulbous bases with anthemion motif carvings. Small, narrow, round arched doorways on thenorth and south walls of the chancel originally gave access to the side chapels or porticus with steeply pitchedstone roofs that are now in a ruinous state. These small rooms may have been used as a sacristy, a treasury or asa private chapel. During the fifteenth century, the porticus to the north of the chancel was enlarged with theaddition of a barrel-vaulted roof. The original roofline of the southern side-chapel is still visible in the externalface of the chancel wall. This roofline appears to be cut by the nave wall which suggeststhat the nave post-dates the side-chapels. At this junction the nave is not knitted intothe chancel wall, creating a straight joint between the nave and chancel. It is knownfrom written records, that in 1732 the church underwent considerable renovation and aninscribed stone of this date survives in the western gable. It had been thought that atthis time the present nave was rebuilt and the original croft and steep stone roof of thechancel replaced with a roof of a lower pitch. 34The splendid Romanesque circular window, with its quatrefoil opening, was once thoughtto have been one of just two of its type in Ireland. 35 The other, which is of smaller andless flamboyant design, is in the west gable of Freshford Church, Co. Kilkenny. Recentconservation works on this church have suggested that the window at Freshford datesfrom the nineteenth century. 36 Therefore, although this type of window occurs on manyRomanesque churches throughout Western Europe, the circular window at Rahan is theonly example of its kind in Ireland. The window measures approximately 2.3m in its overalldiameter and is constructed from sixteen voussoirs, of which almost its entire surfaceis richly decorated. The terminals of the limestone quatrefoil openings are decoratedwith animal interlace in a distinctive Hiberno-Romanesque style. Along the inner edgeor soffit of the circular window, the lozenge spaces on the edge of the window (createdby the opposing chevrons) are filled with mythical beasts, human heads, possibly anexhibitionist figure, rosettes and plain lozenges. The outer faces of these voussoirs arerichly decorated with three rows of lateral chevrons separated by beading with anthemionmotifs and chequer patterns filling the triangular space between the outermost row. Theinner faces of the voussoirs are decorated with three rows of chevrons separated by filletswith a single row of beading between the outer chevrons. Running around the outer edgeof the window, there is a moulding decorated with a foliate pattern on its surface andpellets or small bosses on the underside of the moulding.Plate 26. Northwest view of nave and chancel church afterremoval of hard cement-rich coatings from the external walls.42