Graveyard

The National Monuments Service's description

A stone wall built in 1725 and repaired c. 1825 encloses the graveyard which is sub-circular in plan (diam. c. 55m) suggesting the existence of a pre-Norman ecclesiastical enclosure with the disused St Mary's C. of I. church (DU018-038001-) in the centre of the graveyard. An inscription on the gate-piers of the graveyard entrance recorded that the church which is dedicated to St. Mary was rebuilt in 1817 and that the walls of the churchyard were rebuilt in 1725, and repaired one hundred years later' (Ball 1899, 94).
An archaeological assessment under licence No. 98E0362 in 1998 revealed a ditch outside and concentric to the boundary of the churchyard. No datable finds were recovered from it. Inside the ditch two pits containing burnt material were revealed. They are likely to be of medieval date (Hayden 2000, 43). Further works in 1999 under licence No. 99E0305 revealed a ditch feature traversing the site from east to west. The ditch possibly represents an outer enclosing element around the medieval churchyard and was purposely infilled in the later medieval period. The present graveyard wall may be indicative of an inner circular enclosure (Murphy 2000, 58).

Murphy, D. 2000 1-7 St. Agnes Rd. Crumlin. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1999: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, No. 173, 58. Bray. Wordwell.

See attached plan of excavated ditch, courtesy of Murphy 2000, 58.

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 5 January 2023

References

Ball, E.F. 1899c Descriptive sketch of Clondalkin, Tallaght and other places in west County Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 29, 93-108.

Hayden, A. 2000c 1-7 (rear of) St. Agnes Rd. Crumlin. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1998: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 43. Bray. Wordwell.