Ratass Church and Ogham Stone

Ratass Church in the centre of Tralee town is believed to have been built on the site of an earlier ringfort built circa 500 – 600AD, hence the name Ratass, from the Irish “Ráth Mhaigh Théas”, meaning the fortress of the southern plain. The main road passing the site follows the curvature of the original ringfort.

The earliest surviving monument at the site visible today is an ogham stone thought to date to the 6^th century, which has the inscription “[A]NM SILLANN MAQ VATTILLOGG” (name of Sílán son of Fáithloga). An early Christian cross slab dating 600 – 900AD is also visible to the right of the ogham stone. In the 10^th century a single room church in the Irish style was built at the site in local purple sandstone. The main entrance door, and western end of the current church are the surviving parts of that original church. Later the church was remodelled in the Norman Style by extending the eastern end to divide the larger building into a nave for the congregation and a chancel for the altar. A southern doorway was also added at this time.

Ratass was the episcopal seat for the Diocese of Kerry from 1111 to 1117, when the Bishops of Kerry moved their seat of power to Ardfert Cathedral. The church fell into disuse in the 16^th century, but burials in the surrounding graveyard continue to the present day. A hundred yards to the west of the church is The Republican Plot where 10 IRA Volunteers who died in the War of Independence and Civil War are buried. Amongst these are John O’Connor, from Cork who was killed in the infamous Ballyseede Massacre, and Walter Stennings (a nom-de-guerre), a former British soldier from Oxford who defected to join the IRA and was executed by the Free State Army after being captured at the battle of Clashmealcon Caves in April 1923.

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This national monument is protected in accordance with the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014