Burial ground, Lag Na Gaileadh, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Burial Grounds

Burial ground, Lag Na Gaileadh, Co. Donegal

In the townland of Lag Na Gaileadh, County Donegal, an ancient burial ground known as Killeen stands quietly on the southern bank of the Owenea river.

The site's most prominent feature is an oval mound of earth and stone, rising 1.28 metres high and measuring 18.4 metres from north to south and 13.7 metres from east to west. This substantial earthwork, marked on both the second and third editions of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch maps, sits in well-maintained pasture land just east of a small tributary that feeds into the Owenea.

What makes this burial ground particularly intriguing is the simple stone cross marker positioned just north of the mound's centre. The stone slab, measuring 69 centimetres wide and 42 centimetres high, bears an incised cross that spans 20 centimetres in length and 14 centimetres across. Though modest in its decoration, this weathered marker speaks to centuries of local burial traditions and the enduring importance of this spot to the surrounding community.

The Killeen Burial Ground represents one of many such sites documented during the Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, conducted in 1983. These rural burial grounds, often associated with unbaptised children or those who died in unsanctioned circumstances, form an important yet overlooked part of Ireland's religious and social history. Their simple monuments and earthworks tell stories of communities who maintained their own sacred spaces outside the bounds of formal church graveyards.

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