An Díseart

Dysart derives from the Latin 'desertum', referring to a hermitage or isolated monastic settlement. The place is associated with St Aengus (Óengus) the Culdee, an eighth- and ninth-century monastic reformer who established a hermitage at Dysert-Enos, a short distance southeast of present-day Portlaoise, in order to escape the heavy pilgrim traffic at the nearby abbey of Clonenagh. Aengus became...