Church, Raheenadeeragh, Co. Kildare

Co. Kildare |

Churches & Chapels

Church, Raheenadeeragh, Co. Kildare

What survives of this medieval church in County Kildare is, in places, barely more than a grassed-over line in the ground. The chancel walls have sunk to their lower courses, the west gable is all but gone, and a window in the south wall of the nave has been largely robbed out, its stones carted off at some point for use elsewhere. Yet enough remains upstanding, propped by a series of substantial external buttresses, to give a clear sense of what once stood here. A fragment of a medieval font still lies in the surrounding graveyard, a quiet reminder that this was a functioning place of worship for centuries.

The church was dedicated to St. Fintan and was also known by the name "Fassagh Rebane". Around 1219, Archbishop de Loundres granted it to St. Mary's Abbey in Dublin, drawing this rural Kildare parish into the orbit of one of medieval Ireland's most powerful monastic institutions. The building itself is a rectangular nave and chancel plan, constructed from very roughly coursed, angular limestone masonry. The walls vary considerably in thickness, the north wall running to 1.15 metres compared with 0.8 metres on the south, and notably the chancel walls are not bonded to the nave, suggesting the two sections may have been built at different times. By 1630, when Archbishop Bulkeley conducted his Visitation of Dublin, the church was already recorded as ruinous. The opposing doorways near the west ends of both the north and south walls of the nave, each roughly 1.2 metres wide, would have allowed processions or separate entry for different members of the congregation, a common arrangement in medieval Irish parish churches.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Church, Raheenadeeragh, Co. Kildare. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement