Children's burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

Kileen Grave Yard: This site is noted in the OSNB as a 'burial place for children ... not fenced in' (Glanbeagh, 45), and was no longer in use by the late nineteenth century. It is located in sloping pasture between two tributaries of the Owbeg, on the W side of the Caragh river valley. Heavily overgrown, it is roughly rectangular in plan and has overall dimensions of 24.7m N-S x 19m E-W. A crudely built stone wall, c. .6m high x c. .9m wide, is preserved at W and NW; it may have fully enclosed the site originally but dense overgrowth makes this difficult to verify. The interior of the site at S is raised 1.5m above surrounding ground level and is littered with small block-like slabs and larger boulders, most of which are prostrate. A few upright slabs, averaging .3m high, also occur. Land clearance debris has been deposited against the inner face of the wall at W. A stone with a depression for holy water is locally reputed to exist on this site. It could not be located but may be a bullaun stone.

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. 1020. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 30 July 2013