Cathedral

The National Monuments Service's description

Ono, a Druid and one of two brothers who owned this territory sought gold from St. Patrick for the site of a a church. For this offence the saint said that none of the Cinel Mac Earca would rule the Connachta but would always be allies of their kings. A contrite Ono offered his own fort to the saint who brought forth a spring at Ail Fin which means the fair spring of the stone (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 2, 2-5; Bieler 1979). Another derivation of the name, using Welsh sources, suggests that St Brendan may have been the founder and it means ‘the rock of the fair one’ (Beggan 2016).
Elphin supplanted Roscommon (RO039-043006-) as the diocesan centre by c.1170, probably because of the strength and reputation of St Patrick's abbey (RO016-148001-), but a separate cathedral of St Mary had been built by the early 13th century and is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation of Elphin diocese in 1306 (Cal. doc. Ire., vol. 5, 223). There were eight bishops named O'Conor before 1343, one of whom, Tomaltach, became Archbishop of Armagh in 1180. After a disputed election in 1244, the elections came more under the direction of the King and the Pope. Roland de Burgo, appointed in the 1540s, was the first Protestant bishop and Elphin continued as the diocesan centre until 1961. (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 75-7)
The church was damaged in 1641, and a new cathedral was erected on the original foundations in 1757-8. This was rebuilt in 1823, while the apse was added in 1872. The church was largely demolished in 1964, and the remains conserved in 1982 (Gibley 1988).
Situated at the crest of a S-facing slope, at the S end of a rectangular graveyard (RO016-127007-) (int. dims 60m E-W; 38m N-S) defined by masonry walls and containing 18th - 20th century headstones. The remains consist of a rectangular structure (int. dims 21.45m E-W; 7.63m N-S) defined by conserved walls (H 2m; T 0.95m). The base of the rectangular tower (int. dims 2.5m E-W; 2.35m N-S; H c. 3m) is at the W end, and a chapter room (int. dims 6m N-S; 4.85m E-W) with featureless masonry walls (H 1.4m; T 0.6m) was added at the W end of the S wall. The apse (int. dims 6.45m N-S; 5.35m E-W) at the E end of the nave has 5 round-headed windows, but the base of its piers, and the step separating it from the nave, are of dundry. Two (RO016-127003-; RO016-127004-) of at least four 17th century grave-slabs (Weld 1832, 356-2; Burke 1895, 102-5, 111-7), including that of Bishop Edward King, are within the church. There is a record of a 'font stone' (RO016-127006-) which it was commonly believed held the imprint of St Patrick's knee. This relic, which may have been a bullaun stone, was destroyed by rebels in 1641 (Burke 1895, 112).
St Patrick's Well (RO016-127008-) is c. just N of the graveyard. This was enclosed in a masonry pier (dims 0.8m x 0.8m; H 0.8m) in the 19th century. It was re-established in 1984, enclosed in its pier, and provided with a patio, at which time a large stone (RO016-127009-) was erected nearby to commemorate the original foundation (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 2, 2-4). St Patrick's abbey (RO016-148001-) is probably c. 550m to the N on the site of the post-medieval bishop's palace (RO016-126----).
A test excavation (00E0171) c. 50m W of the graveyard failed to yield any evidence associated with the church or settlement (Halpin 2002), but a test excavation (00E0579) produced a paved area (dims 1.5m N-S; 0.8m E-W) outside the N wall of the church (Carey 2002). Test excavations (01E0704) c. 100m S of the church produced a stone-lined 18th century kiln (RO016-127010-) (dims 2.3m E-W; 1.4-1.6m N-S; D 0.6m), which was probably for corn-drying (Read 2003d, 355; 2006n).

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010
Amended: 7 October 2017

References

Bieler, L. 1979 The Patrician texts in the Book of Armagh. Dublin. Institute for Advanced Studies.

Cal. doc. Ire. - Calendar of documents relating to Ireland 1171-1307, ed. H.S. Sweetman (5 vols., London, 1875-86).

Burke, Rev. F. 1895 Lough Cé and its annals: north Roscommon and the diocese of Elphin in times of old. Dublin. Hodges.

Carey, A. 2002 Elphin adjacent to church. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2000: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 292, no. 855. Bray. Wordwell.

Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R.N. 1970 (Reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Halpin, E. 2002b New Line Road, Elphin. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2000: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 293, No. 856. Bray. Wordwell.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1931 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Roscommon collected during the progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1837. Bray.

Read, C. 2006n Elphin: 18th-century kiln. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2003: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 423, No. 1574. Bray. Wordwell.

Read, C. 2003d Elphin: possible kiln. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2001: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 355, No. 1118. Bray. Wordwell.

Weld, I. 1832 Statistical survey of the county Roscommon. Dublin, Royal Dublin Society

Beggan, G. 2016 The placename ‘Elphin’ and the Book ‘Taliesin’. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society, vol. 14, 116-7.

Gibley, C. 1988 The Francisans in the Elphin. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Socity, vol. 2, 23-9.