Graveyard

The National Monuments Service's description

A rectangular graveyard (41.2m N-S; 36.1m E-W), extended to the N before 1894, enclosed by a stone wall and accessed through a gate at the SW. The ruin of the former C of I parish church of Tawnagh, incorporating a late medieval church (SL034-085001-), stands close to the SW corner. The raised roughly rectangular platform of an earlier graveyard (c. 40m E-W; 25m N-S), defined by a gently sloping scarp, occupies the S third of the graveyard. It extends N from the entrance gate at SW and curves around to the E, c. 10m N of the church, following the border of the graveyard as indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map. Immediately to the N of the church are rows of low uninscribed grave-markers. A memorial, located to the N of the church porch, is dated 1701 (pers. comm. M. B. Timoney). There are a number of chest-tombs and recumbent stones, mostly on the S side of the church. The graveyard is still in use. Just inside the E boundary wall, 10.8m E of the church, is a Tau cross (SL034-08505-). A curved scarp along the contour of the hillside, c. 27m to W of the graveyard, may indicate the line of an outer enclosure. 'St Patrick's' holy well (SL034-028----) is c. 200m to the N.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005).

Date of upload: 18 January 2008