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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Graveyard

Killomenaghan, County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Graveyard, Killomenaghan, County Westmeath, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Killomenaghan
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Grave Yard
Latest-edition OS map
Graveyard
Coordinates
53.37512, -7.84081
SMR number
WM035-003001-

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1811 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

In undulating pasture on SW face of low hillock with poorly preserved wall footings of a medieval church (WM035-003----) standing in N quadrant of graveyard. According to local folklore there was an old pilgrimage route running between the monastery of Clonmacnoise (OF005-027001-) and the old churchyard at Killomenaghan which passed through the townland of Cloncraff or Bloomhill (OF006-001002-) where partial remains of the trackway were excavated in 1987 (Breen, Parkes & Bradshaw 1988, 332-3). Roughly D-shaped graveyard enclosed by stone wall of post medieval date with entrance gate and stone stile at SE. Immediately inside the gateway on the N side a stoup probably taken from the church has been incorporated into the graveyard wall. Unable to locate St. Menaghan's holy well (WM035-003002-) depicted on 1910 ed. OS 25-inch map where the well is shown located inside the S corner of the graveyard immediately inside the entrance gate and stile. A second holy well (WM035-003003-) is depicted in the field 30m S of the graveyard. Memorials inside the graveyard date from the 18th century onwards. A curving earthwork visible on aerial photographs (CUCAP BDT 93) in the field from W-N suggests the presence of a possible ecclesiastical enclosure (WM035-003004-) although this is not certain as the curving boundary may be a topographical feature following the base of a natural hillock on which the graveyard is situated. A curving ditch in the field to the SW appears to be a drainage ditch while the earthwork in the field to the E may be the result of scarping of a natural hillock on which the graveyard is situated. Linear earthworks in the field to the SW appear to be the remains of broad cultivation ridges running WNW-ESE of uncertain antiquity.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 5 August 2014

References

Breen, C.T., Parkes, H. and Bradshaw, R. 1988 Excavation of a roadway at Bloomhill Bog, County Offaly. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 88C, 321-39.

CUCAP - Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs. Unit for Landscape Modelling, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. See:https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
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