RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

3.0 PHYSICAL EVIDENCEThe recent removal of cement-rich coatings from the walls and vault has revealed new and important informationabout the construction of the church — confirming Leask’s analysis and chronology. It now appears that thechancel was built in the twelfth century and that the original nave was modified or rebuilt between the twelfthand fifteenth century. The straight joint between the nave and the chancel on the south side of the church andthe truncation of the roof-line of the porticus suggests that the nave post-dates the chancel.The south wall of the nave contains two round-headed windows with limestone voussoirs that were probablyinserted during the 1732 works. The two windows of similar shape with brick arched heads on the north side wereintroduced during a later period (probably around 1830). A fifteenth century ogee-headed single light windowwas inserted into the north wall of the nave by William Martin in 1912. On the jambstones of this window arecarved in high relief a griffin (mythical animal that is half eagle and half lion) facing a bird that appears to be awoodpecker. On the opposite jamb of the window there is a dragon eating its own tail. In medieval Christianitythe dragon was a symbol of Satan or evil, and in this instance the image appears to be conveying the message thatsin or evil consumes itself. During this time the woodpecker also represented Satan or evil and its juxtapositionwith a griffin (symbolising the divine nature of Christ) appears to be a depiction of the battle between good andevil. This battle was central to the belief of Christians in medieval Ireland, where the church offered salvationfrom the world of Satan and evil.In addition to the works to the nave during the fifteenth century, the small side-chapel or porticus off the northernside of the chancel was enlarged by the construction of a large barrel-vaulted side-chapel. The 1732 worksappear to have included the re-roofing of the chancel, patching or rebuilding of the west gable and rebuildingof sections of the west end of the north and south walls of the nave. There is possible evidence to suggest thatthe nave may have been extended to the west during this rebuilding phase. The west gable includes carved anddressed reused medieval stones such as the remains of a limestone sill belonging to a single light window. Thelowermost jamb of the present west doorway belongs to a fifteenth century limestone doorway. This chamferedjambstone is decorated with a vine-leaf chamfer stop. When the nave was rebuilt in the fifteenth century, theoriginal Romanesque doorway may have been moved to the smaller church and replaced by a limestone doorway.The surviving chimney flue in the west gable dates from the eighteenth century.43