Burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

Listed as a 'cemetery' in the SMR (1986) based on documentary evidence which mentions a disused graveyard on the lower part of this hill 'a little above the 1000 feet contour' (Price 1953, 223; Corlett and Weaver 2002, 507-08). The Ordnance Survey Letters of 1838 mention this burial ground where it is referred to as 'Carricknagross grave yard' (O'Flanagan 1927, 105). The OS Letters could not locate the graveyard where it was believed to be located in the parish of Granabeg. There is a burial ground (WI016-006----) in Granabeg Upper but this appears to be a different graveyard to 'Carricknagross graveyard'. Recorded in 1949 by Price (Corlett and Weaver 2002, 507) as 'Cornagrus Graveyard' who described the monument as following; 'A bank of large stones or boulders and earth surrounds a space about 32yds in diameter. The bank is about 3ft [0.9m] high. Inside all that is to be seen is a number of boulders and stones, many of them covered by moss, but in one place there is cut-stone cross (WI016-014001-). It is in two pieces; I don't know if they were originally joined and have been broken, or not, but by putting the cross-head on the pillar it makes quite a good cross. The pillar is standing in the earth; it can be shaken, so is not deep, but I did not dig to the bottom of it. There is no sign of carving on it. It is in the SW part of the enclosure. It is at the end of some stones which have roughly the shape of a grave, but this might be accidental. Burke said that people say a priest was buried there' (ibid., 507-08). The dry-stone wall forms a cashel-like enclosure which along with the stone cross located inside may suggest a possible ecclesiastical enclosure.

Compiled by: Matt Kelleher

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Barry Dalby.

Date of revised upload: 20 March 2017

References

Corlett, C. and Weaver, M. (eds) 2002 The Price Notebooks. 2 vols. Dúchas the Heritage Service. Dublin.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1928 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Wicklow collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838. Bray.

Price, L. 1953 The place-names of Co. Wicklow. IV - The barony of Talbotstown Lower. The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies (185-280).