What is recorded here

Half a mile south of the modern townland, the ground still holds the shape of a drowned church. St. Patrick is said to have planted a yew rod beside the well where he drank, and that rod became the grave marker people still call the Yew Tree Graveyard. The tree rotted away in 1838, the church vanished before memory, and the marsh took back what the road had crossed. What remains is a flat field, a buried well, and the certainty that patience, not stone, built the place.

Church (LA027-004-) and well were dedicated to St. Patrick. Burials took place here until 1780 (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 139-140). Situated in low lying marshy area. No visible surface remains remain. According to local information this area was reclaimed. Described by Carrigan as 'Rathnaleugh, according to Dr. Joyce, means the fort of the leamh, or marsh mallows. There was a church (LA027-004-) here which the old people called Kilclaena, that is, the bent or inclining church, or the church (in the townland) of Claenagh. In the Down Survey Books the name is written Kilklienagh. The church which must have been founded here in a very far-off age, has disappeared as completely as if it had never been. The churchyard (LA027-004001-) is almost on a level with the surrounding field, and preserves no trace of the fence that once enclosed it, there are some rude headstones. Locally the churchyard is best known as the 'Yew Tree Graveyard'. It is so called from a venerable yew tree (LA027-004004-) that grew, about 60 yards to the west, over the 'Yew Tree Well' (LA027-004003-). An ancient road (LA027-004004-) led from the Co. Tipperary, over a togher or causeway at this well, and thence through Rossmore, &c. St. Patrick once travelled along the road. When he came to the togher, being both weary and thirsty he sat down by the well to rest himself, and partook of its clear, pure waters. Ere resuming his journey he took a yew rod, which he had been carrying in his hand, and planted it in the bank beside the well. The rod took root and grew into a great tree which, after shading the Yew Tree Well for many centuries, at length decayed through old age, and rotted away completely about the year 1838' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 139-40). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

This site is associated with St. Patrick, and the presence of a holy tree or bush suggests it may have been a place of pilgrimage or prayer. The long history of burials here, continuing until 1780, indicates its enduring spiritual significance in the local community.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.