Christianising pagan worlds in conversion-era Ireland: archaeological evidence for the origins of Irish ecclesiastical sites

Abstract

The conversion of the Irish people to Christianity can be viewed as one of the defining aspects of the early medieval period. Over the years, the artistic, architectural and scholarly achievements of the church have enjoyed a very privileged position within early medieval Irish studies. Despite this, relatively few scholars, until very recently, have considered how the Irish were converted to Christianity. What types of pagan ritual complexes, burial grounds and royal settlements existed in the conversion era? Were these sites deliberately eschewed (due to their pagan connotations) or appropriated by missionaries for symbolic or practical reasons? How did ancient pagan rituals impact upon the nature of early Irish Christian practices and what was the character of ecclesiastical settlements in the fifth and sixth centuries in a landscape still dominated by paganism? These questions are addressed here using historical, toponymic and newly emerging archaeological evidence.