Children's burial ground, Kilcock, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Burial Grounds

Children’s burial ground, Kilcock, Co. Kerry

On a piece of rising ground in north Kerry, there is an enclosure that the Ordnance Survey mapmakers of 1841 to 1842 labelled plainly and without ceremony: "Burial Ground for Children.

" That label points to a cillín, the informal name for the category of marginal burial sites used across Ireland for unbaptised infants and others who, under Catholic doctrine of the period, were excluded from consecrated ground. These places were often located at liminal spots, old boundaries, or elevated land set apart from the parish churchyard, and they carry a particular weight in the Irish landscape.

What makes this site in Kilcock quietly arresting is the gap between how it was recorded and how it now appears. The mid-nineteenth-century map shows a neat circular form, but on the ground today the enclosure is irregularly shaped, sloping considerably to the east and south so that the interior sits noticeably lower than the surrounding terrain. It measures roughly 40 metres north to south and 21 metres east to west on the interior, with the outer dimensions running to 45 metres by 39 metres. In the north-western part of the interior there is a small mound, approximately 4 metres square, whose purpose is unrecorded. A probable entrance around 4 metres wide opens to the east. Whether the change in shape reflects centuries of gradual alteration, slippage, or simply the limits of early cartographic precision is not clear from what survives.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Children’s burial ground, Kilcock, Co. Kerry. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement