Ecclesiastical enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Sixth century monastery founded at Drumrath also known as Drumraney by St Éanán whose feastday is celebrated on the 19th of August and 18th of September (Ó Riain 2011, 657-8). In 1837 its recorded that the saints 'festival is celebrated on the Sunday after Sept. 18th’ (Lewis 1837, 520). Holy well (WM023-039----) dedicated to St Éanán located 140m to NE. Drumraney castle (WM023-036---) located 300m to N. In the 6th century St Aed visited Éanán hermit of the monastery of Druim-rath [Drumraney] in the west of Meath (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 382). In 946 the Annals recorded that 'an army was led by the foreigners over Druim-raithe; and they burned the oratory and seven score and ten persons within it' (AFM, 661). It has been suggested that the quadrantal form of Drumraney graveyard (WM023-040001-) may indicate the presence of an ecclesiastical enclosure (Swan 1988, 19). The rath element of the placename Drumrath may be a reference to the enclosing bank of the monastic enclosure. The older graveyard occupies the S half of the present graveyard and appears to have been defined by the curving arc of an enclosure now survived by a scarp running E-W across the middle of the present graveyard. This scarp is visible on OSI aerial photographs and may represent the partial remains of the ecclesiastical enclosure. Inside the older section of graveyard there are several architectural fragments belonging to the medieval church (WM023-040---) of Drumraney.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 7 July 2015

References

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Swan, D.L. 1988 The Early Christian ecclesiastical sites of County Westmeath. In J. Bradley (ed.), Settlement and society in Medieval Ireland: studies presented to F.X. Martin O.S.A., 1-31. Kilkenny. Boethius Press.

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

AFM - Annals of the kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the earliest period to the year 1616, ed. and trans. John O'Donovan (7 vols., Dublin, 1851; reprint New York, 1966)

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.