The "rath" element points to a ringfort, the circular earthwork enclosure that was the standard unit of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, while the "Patrick" almost certainly nods to an early ecclesiastical association, perhaps a foundation or site connected to the Patrician tradition that scattered dedications across the country in the centuries following the fifth century. That a church should stand in such a place is entirely in keeping with the pattern by which Christian communities in Ireland so often chose to plant themselves at or near pre-existing sacred or defended sites.