Editing County Laois (section)

===Introduction of Christianity===
When Ireland was [[Christianization|Christianised]], holy men and women founded religious communities in [[Loígis]].  St. [[Ciarán of Saighir]] (called "The Elder" to distinguish him from the younger St. [[Ciarán of Clonmacnoise]]) founded his monastic habitation in the western [[Slieve Bloom Mountains]] as the first [[bishop of Ossory]], reputedly before [[St. Patrick]]. His mother Liadán had an early convent nearby at what is now Killyon.  Between 550 and 600, St. Canice founded Aghaboe Abbey and St. Mochua founded a religious community at Timahoe. An early Christian community lived at Dun Masc or Masc's fort, on the Rock of Dunamase.

The [[Synod of Rathbreasail]] that established the Irish dioceses was held near [[Mountrath]] in 1111, moving the Church away from its [[monastery|monastic]] base. As religious orders with strong ties to Rome replaced older religious communities, the wooden buildings of the early Christian churches in Laois gave way to stone monasteries. The [[Augustinians]] and [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]] established themselves at Aghaboe Abbey, while the [[Cistercians]] took over an older religious community at Abbeyleix.