Children's burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on flat, well drained pasture, on the E side of Athlone town. Lissahearin Grave Yard consisted of a roughly circular-shaped area (diam. 19m) enclosed by a low bank of earth and stone with is no trace of an external fosse. The perimeter of the earthwork is planted with mature beech and elm trees. The interior is relatively level with stones scattered on the surface and a low stony outcrop in the E quadrant. The monument resembles a small ringfort. According to Rev. J. Pinkman (1945, 47) ‘Lissaherin’ refers to Ahern’s Fort which lies close to the S side of the Athlone to Mullingar railway line, about half a mile from Athlone town. It was previously used as a burial place for unbaptized children. The Ordnance Survey suggested that this monument may have been a small ringfort that was reused as a children’s burial ground. Monument is visible today as a roughly circular-shaped tree-planted earthwork on Digital Globe aerial photography which is within a trapezoidal-shaped, undeveloped green area, within a modern housing estate.

Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien.

Date of upload: 07 November 2019

References

Pinkman, Rev. J. 1945 Place-names of St. Mary's Parish, Athlone. Journal of the Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Archaeological Society 2, 37-47.