Children's burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture on level ground in a multiperiod field system (CL009-013001-). Hachured as a raised circular area, clipped by a N-S running field boundary at E, and labelled ‘Kilballymahony Burial Gd. for Children’ on the 1842 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and as ‘Kilballymahony Children’s Burial Ground’ on the 1920 ed. Listed as ‘Burial ground’ in the RMP (1996). Labelled ‘Cill Bhaile Uí Mhathgamhna’ on Robinson’s map (1977). The OS Letters (1839) suggest that this and another children’s burial ground (CL009-013005-) c. 745m to the ESE in neighbouring Ballymurphy townland were probably the sites of ‘small chapels of ease to the Parish Church’ (Comber 1997, 65) at Noughaval, c. 1.8km to the SE.
A subrectangular enclosure (37.4m E–W; 31.9m N–S) defined by a bank of earth and stone. A later N-S running field boundary bisects it. The enclosing bank (Wth 2.4m; int. H 0.6m; ext. H 1.1m) is more substantial to the E of the field wall; to the W of it, it is much lower (int. H 0.2m; ext. H 0.4–0.8m). No visible surface trace of it survives from W to WNW. A gap (Wth 8m) in the N side, to the E of the field boundary, does not appear to be original. No grave-markers or any traces of burials are evident in the interior. In the W half there is a small mound (diam. 3.3m; H 0.4m). A later field boundary abuts the enclosure at SW.

Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 20 October 2021

References

Record of Monuments and Places as established under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, County Clare. Issued by National Monuments and Historic Properties Service 1996. Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.

Comber, M. (ed.) 1997 The antiquities of County Clare: John O’Donovan and Eugene Curry: Ordnance Survey Letters 1839. Clasp Press. Ennis.

Robinson, J.L. 1937 A raheen at Killeagh, near Ovoca [sic], Co. Wicklow. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 67, 305-6.