Children's burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

Children's Burial Ground: This site is located immediately above a low cliff-edge on the rocky shore of Kells Bay, and affords an extensive outlook to N across Dingle Bay. Triangular in plan, it is delineated at W and S by two drystone walls that measure 36m and 23.5m long, respectively; it is open to the sea at NE. Approximately two hundred uninscribed grave-markers occur in its interior, arranged in at least twenty parallel NE-SW rows. A small marble slab marks the location of a recent cremation burial. As a result of storms in 1989, a pair of parallel drystone walls, 3.2m apart, became exposed in section on the seaward side of the site. Well-faced with a rubble core, they average .9m wide. The W wall has a maximum height of 1.2m. The walls may possibly be identified with the 'old building near a grave', noted at this site in the OSNB (Killinane, 39). There is a vague tradition of rounds formerly being performed at the site on Good Fridays (local information), and the bodies of a number of sailors were reputedly buried here during both World Wars (Sugrue 1993, 24).

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1021. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 30 July 2013