Is there an archaeology of lay people at early Irish monasteries?

The theme of this collection of papers is an important one which, in the Irish context, raises interesting questions of definition that go far beyond mere semantics. For example, what exactly do we mean by the term « monastery » in this period and is it possible to identify such sites archaeologically ? Beyond that, is it possible to identify lay people among those visiting, living and working at these sites ? Can certain archaeologically-attested activities be taken as evidence for the presence of lay people or might they just as easily have been carried out by people which, to a greater or lesser extent, were commitment to the religious life ? This general, and by no means exhaustive, paper aims to address these issues in a way which it is hoped will be useful, especially to colleagues who are not familiar with the Irish material.