Burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

At the SE corner of a pasture field bordered at S by a road, in an area of undulating terrain overlooked at N by a high ridge.
A rectangular tree-planted enclosure is shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map but is not named as a burial ground; it is indicated on the 1919 edition as ‘Burial Ground’.
A rectangular area (26.4m E−W; 24m N−S) enclosed on the E side by a drystone property wall, at S by a concrete wall, bordering the road, and to W and N by a low stony rise/wall footings. Several mature beech trees grow around the perimeter. Several low, upright uninscribed stone gravemarkers are evident in the interior, which is scattered throughout with loose stones. In the NW quadrant there is a circular grass-covered flat-topped rise or mound (10.8m E−W; 11m N−S; H 1.2m at W, 0.7m at E), with a lot of stones protruding from the sod and loosely scattered over its entire surface.
A slight scarp defines the NE quadrant which is at a very slightly higher level than the rest of the interior. Here a rectangular graveslab lies on the surface. It is engraved with a cross within a decorative scalloped ring, with IHS beneath; a tiny heart is carved beneath the cross-bar of the H. The inscription indicates that it was erected by a father for his child, John Myles O’Donnell; the date appears to read 1857.
According to local information, the burial ground is locally known as ‘Killeen’ and was used as a children’s burial ground; the names of the dead were often carved into the trees which grow around the perimeter, but these carvings are no longer visible.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 6 December 2021