Grave Yard, Ballydrinan, Co. Tipperary
Co. Tipperary |
Burial Grounds
What catches the eye first about this small burial ground near Ballydrinan is the ground itself.
The interior is described as very hummocky, meaning the turf rises and dips in irregular mounds that hint at far more burials beneath the surface than the visible headstones would suggest. That kind of undulating ground is common in old Irish graveyards where generations of interments, many unmarked, have slowly reshaped the earth over centuries.
The graveyard sits on the edge of a steep east-facing slope in rolling pasture, with a stream running roughly fifty metres to the east and the River Suir flowing about two hundred metres beyond that. It is a roughly square enclosure, measuring approximately thirty-nine metres north to south and thirty-two metres east to west, its perimeter wall built from mortared limestone rubble. A church associated with the site, recorded separately, stands on the southern side of this enclosure. The headstones that remain visible date predominantly from the nineteenth century, though the hummocky ground suggests the site was in use well before that period. The roadside stretch of the boundary wall is the most intact section and gives a good sense of the enclosure's modest but deliberate construction.
