Lemanaghan, County Offaly [PDF 1.96 - The Heritage Council

St Mella’s Cell and Enclosure are of national archaeological importance.
The enclosure in which St Mella’s Cell is located is exceptional in its rectangular
form and method of construction. The choice of a rectangular enclosure, as
opposed to the more commonplace circular or D-shaped forms, is difficult to
explain, suggesting that when it was built, the oratory may have served a very
particular function. The lack of any evidence of modern burial/disturbance of the
ground within the enclosure and the cell is very unusual in the context of early
Christian buildings.
The number and quality of artefacts associated with the site are of
archaeological and art historical significance.
St Managhan’s shrine, the wooden staff and the metalwork crozier are items
of national importance. St Managhan’s shrine is unique both in artistic
accomplishment, and in the fact that it is still associated with the locality for
which it was made. The number and range of items found in the bogs around
Lemanaghan provide a rare insight into the material culture of the settlement.
The documented history of Lemanaghan is rich for a site of this type and
ties in particularly closely with the archaeological evidence.
This applies to both the earlier and later periods of its history, first as a monastic
site and later as a parish church. Seventeenth-century documentation of the
secular occupation of the parish is also quite rich and is included in a number
of early surveys and census returns. The castle was of significance as being the
location where the Annals of Clonmacnoise were translated.
The site is significant in its continued use for devotional practices.
Although the church at Lemanaghan fell out of use in 1641, the holy well, holy
tree and the piscina in St Managhan’s church all continue to provide a focus for
worship, as evidenced by an ever-changing array of offerings.
There is a vibrant folklore associated with the place.
Continuity of worship is mirrored in the vibrant folklore which, linked directly
to the monuments in many instances, has contributed to keeping the history of
the site very much alive.
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