Burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture 80m NW of the Augustinian nunnery of Monasternagalliaghduff (LI019-026009-) and 15m SE of a cist (LI019-026008-), in the formal grounds of the Old Abbey House. Not Depicted on any OS maps, it was identified as Site G on a plan of the site by T. J. Westropp (Wardell 1904, 52) where he describes the site as following; ‘In 1901 the remains of some fifteen persons were discovered in a plot marked G. They had been buried in clayey and stoney soil at a depth of about two feet [0.6m]. The first skeleton found was buried north and south and in line with the cist (LI019-026008-). It lay on its back, and the size of the bones, which were in their natural order, would seem to indicate that they had belonged to a large man. The skull was in good preservation, but had been cracked by the spade and came to pieces on being much handled. With the exception of a slight decay in the molars, the teeth were perfect, but much ground down. To the south of this skeleton came many bones in no particular order; many of them would seem to have been those of children. It is possible that this portion of the Abbey lands had once been a place of pagan burial’. No surface trace visible on Google Earth Orthoimage taken 08/04/2015.

See attached location map showing burial ground labelled G and Google Earth orthoimages

Compiled by: Martin Fitzpatrick

Date of upload: 13 July 2020

References

Wardell, J. 1904 The history and antiquities of St. Catherine's Old Abbey, Co. Limerick. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland XIV, 41-64.