What is recorded here

Saint Abban built the monastery of Rathbecain in Ely and died in 650, leaving behind a garden wall and an ancient road that people could still trace decades later. The earth around Rath Beg held so many human bones they surfaced during digging, suggesting generations lived, prayed and died within that forgotten boundary. What remains is not a grand church but a ghost of routine: footsteps on a lost road, bodies returned to soil, and a wall that marked the edge between the sacred and the ordinary.

Unlocated monastery within the townland of Rathbeg which is described as being founded by 'Saint Abban built the monastery of Rathbecain, in Ely, and died in 650. The garden wall of the monastery, and an ancient road to it, could be traced some years ago. A great quantity of human bones were also dug up there' (Cooke 1875, 186-7). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

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