Laraghbryan
Posted on 22. Aug, 2008 by admin in History
Laraghbryan
Laraghbryan on the Western edge of the town is now a graveyard with headstones dating back to 1640. However its religious links can be traced back to the early Christian period when it was one of three religious houses in the Maynooth area sharing the honour with Taghadoe and Donaghmore. It has associations with the town since the seventh century.
The Name
The name Laraghbryan comes from the Gaelic "Laithreach Briuin" which means the sanctuary of the O’Byrnes who were the Kings of Leinster before being driven out by the Fitzgeralds. It was common practice at the time to name a monastery after the local ruling family in return for their patronage. There is the remains of a large church and part of a tower at Laraghbryan. The tower has a spiral stone stair which would have been a feature of the conical towers similar to that still standing at Larghbryan’s sister facility in Taghadoe. St. Senan, a sixth century saint, founded the monastery and its importance to religion in Ireland at that point is underlined by frequent reference in the various accounts of the four-hundred year period that followed. Laraghbryan suffered by virtue of its location. It is less than 2km from the County Meath border and as Meath and Kildare were in different provinces, it suffered badly from cross border skirmishes. This was most pronounced in the middle of the eleventh century when there was a vicious struggle for the Kingship of Ireland. There is a further, possibly more physical link with the town as, according to local tradition, an escape tunnel from the Castle has its exit at the tower in Laraghbryan.
