RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

5.0 DEFINING THE ISSUES AND ASSESSING VULNERABILITYAs a building in use for ecclesiastical purposes, the Church of St Carthage is not protected under the provisions ofthe National Monuments Acts. The church is, however, included in the Record of Protected Structures in the OffalyCounty Development Plan 2003 – 2009 and is therefore a protected structure under the terms of the Planningand Development Act 2000.The site is designated as a Zone of Archaeological Potential in the Offaly County Development Plan 2003 – 2009.The areas immediately north and south of the site are zoned for Open Space. The northwest corner of the site isbound by Other Settlement Lands, Residential and Public / Community / Educational.5.3 Condition of the Historic FabricChurch of St CarthageThe Church of St Carthage survives in a good state of preservation and a reasonably good state of repair. Thephase one repairs overseen by Gary Miley included the removal of invasive ivy and concrete pointing on part ofthe chancel, the repair of natural slate roof coverings and the renewal of the nave windows and all rainwatergoods.External and Internal MasonryProblems with damp in the building have been alleviated by the removal of hard cement rich coatings from theexterior of the nave and chancel and from the underside of the nave vaulting, in early 2007. The damp penetrationwas so severe that green algae covered much of the internal wall surfaces of the chancel. Having removed all ofthe cement coatings and pointing, the historic building fabric has now had the chance to dry out.Small Church and Tower HouseThe ruins of the small church and the ruined tower house also survive in a reasonably stable condition, albeit withextensive cement pointing from previous programmes of repair.Plate 55. External face of west gable showing historic fabric, main doorway and chimney stack rising from the apex of thegable.61