County Laois
Religious statues in Co. Laois
Laois is a county of early monasteries — Clonenagh, Aghaboe, Timahoe — and of one famous tree into which people hammered coins as they asked St Fintan for help.
Dioceses
Laois has no cathedral of its own. Most of the county belongs to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, with its cathedral in Carlow; parishes in the south-west, around Aghaboe, belong to the Diocese of Ossory, whose cathedral is in Kilkenny, and a few on the Tipperary side look to Killaloe.
Saints of the county
St Fintan of Clonenagh
Near Mountrath, the site of St Fintan’s sixth-century monastery. A sycamore there became known as the Money Tree because people pressed coins into its bark when they prayed to the saint; the metal poisoned it and it fell in a storm in 1994, but new growth has come from the stump. Please don’t add coins.
St Canice of Aghaboe
Canice — the Kilkenny saint — founded a monastery at Aghaboe, and he is still the second patron of the Diocese of Ossory.
Which statues suit
For a home in Portlaoise, Portarlington or the country, painted resin is the usual choice indoors. St Joseph, Padre Pio and the Sacred Heart are good places to start; Divine Mercy for a prayer corner.
Farmhouse gardens in Laois often have a shrine at the gate or by the yard wall. For those, choose marble and site it with care — our outdoor care guide covers bases, frost and moss.
For Laois homes and gardens
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €60
St Joseph
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €60
Sacred Heart of Jesus (Open Arms)
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €55
St Joseph with the Child Jesus
Hand-painted resin · glitter finish
From €60
St Joseph
Hand-carved marble
€1,700
St Padre Pio
Hand-carved marble
€1,600
Questions from Laois
How much is delivery to Co. Laois?
Resin statues go by post to any address in Co. Laois for a flat €15 per order, however many statues are in the parcel. Marble is too heavy for the post, so we deliver it ourselves; the delivery charge for each marble statue is shown on its own page before you order. We deliver marble to every part of the county on a day agreed with you.
How big a statue for a gate pier or yard wall?
It depends on the distance it will be seen from. Our size guide works it out with simple measurements.
Can I return a statue?
Yes. You have 14 days to cancel and a further 14 days to return, and anything broken in delivery is replaced or refunded, postage included.
A statue for Laois?
Tell us where the statue will stand and roughly how tall it should be, and we will tell you plainly what suits. WhatsApp or ring +353 85 285 1015, or write to [email protected].
Updated
Read next
Religious statues in Ireland
Statues of Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints for the home, the parish and the garden — hand-painted resin and hand-carved marble, delivered to every county in Ireland.
Offaly
On the Shannon at Clonmacnoise, St Ciarán founded the monastery that became one of the great schools of early Christian Europe. Offaly also has Durrow, Colmcille’s foundation, and Seir Kieran, by tradition older still.
Kildare
Kildare is Brigid’s town — Cill Dara, the church of the oak — where she founded her monastery and where her flame is again kept alight. It is also home to Ireland’s national seminary at Maynooth.
Choosing a size
The most common reason a statue disappoints is not the statue: it is the size. A few minutes with a tape measure, and one or two rules of thumb, save a lot of trouble.