Church

The National Monuments Service's description

This is the parish church of Rahara, listed as Rathfard in the ecclesiastical taxation of Elphin in 1306 (Cal. doc. Ire., vol. 5, 224). Situated on a gentle E-facing slope c. 1.2 km from the NW corner of Lough Funshinagh, a large subrectangular turlough (dims c. 3km NNW-SSE; c. 1-1.3km ENE-WSW). The church is a rectangular structure (ext. dims 16.3m E-W; 8.4m N-S) with good quoins, one with a carved head (RO045-077004-) at the NW angle. The N wall with a pointed doorway (Wth 1.3m; H 1.5m) towards the W end is complete (H c. 3.5m). The E wall with the dressed ingoings of the embrasure (Wth 1.6m) of a lancet window which is damaged, survives almost complete (H c. 3m), while the W wall is largely rebuilt and the S wall is missing. A sheela-na-gig (RO045-077005-) (Siggins 1990, 46-7) carved on a voussoir from an arch (H 0.44m; Wth 0.1-0.4; T 0.3m) is now in Roscommn County Museum (RO039-043025-). The church is within a rectangular graveyard (RO045-077002-) (dims c. 70m N-S; c. 50m E-W) defined by a field bank at E and masonry walls at N and W, but the graveyard has been extended at S (dims c. 65m NW-SE; c. 35-65m NE-SW). Toberlargan (RO045-075001-) is c. 800m to the NNE.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

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

Siggins, A. 1990 Heads and tails of stone. Journal of the County Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society 3, 45-8.