Raheen is a small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in County Laois

County Laois

County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...

 south of Portlaoise in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

.

History

Raheen has an imposing Catholic church, dating from 1857. The first Catholic church, a thatched chapel, was built in 1729; the site was granted by a Protestant family named Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin granted the land after seeing poor Catholics assembled at Mass in a deep pit, which is called The Mass Pit even to the present time.
The grave-yard in the village marks the site of the old thatched chapel.

In 1916 rising some members of the IRA derailed a train by the woods in this village.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

External links

• Local parish history