Annatrim Anatrim, so good they named it twice.
Hidden away and not far from Coolrain and Camross and nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Slieve Bloom mountains lies the ancient monastic settlement of Annatrim.
There seems to be two spellings of the placename hence the title of this post.
A monastic settlement was established here circa 6th Century by Saint Mochaemhog.
The ruins of a 1730's church and crypt lie here and its graveyard contains row after row of simply marked graves using simple stones as markers. Very plain, simple and beautiful.
This area existed in what was the Barony of Upper Ossory in the parish of Offerlane. It was undoubtedly at one time an important ecclesiastical site with references made to Saint Patrick among others. The earlier Monastery at Annatrim seems to have disappeared sometime in the 12th Century.
Nearby is Saint Kavan's Holy Well. He is also referenced in other places as Saint Kaban. I can find little information on Saint Kavan (Kaban) other than he may be either a brother of Kevin of Glendalough or he may in fact be a Welsh Saint, Saint Cadfan, who never actually visited Ireland.
There is a Saint Cavan associated with Inishere, a small Island in the Arans or perhaps it is a derivation of Kavanaugh or Kavanagh from the Carlow area. Who knows...?
A Pattern day associated with the location seems to have died out around the 1830's.
At Saint Kavan's Well is a Saints Stone which has two deep hollows gouged into it. I presumed these hollows were for holding water or some kind or ritual at the well however it seems possible that this stone may be an old repurposed Mill Stone.
The later 1800's Church of Ireland located next door still holds services twice monthly and is an attractive building in it's own right.
Being a remote and tranquil area off the beaten track in Laois, Annatrim is well worth taking time out to visit if only for the scenery the area is blessed with.
There's a couple of references in an article here about Annatrim however some historical context is missing so a lot of information may be supposition which I guess goes for all early history and records.
The obscurity of the origins of the Monastery and Saint Kavan only serves to add to the attraction of visiting.
The Crypt was originally part of an earlier Church and was modified and adapted to its present use.
Irelands Holy Wells - Annatrim
Interesting entry on Saint Coemhan (Kavan) here :
omniumsanctorumhiberniae
Interesting entry on Saint Coemhan (Kavan) here :
omniumsanctorumhiberniae