Crockaunduff Grave Yard, Kilnaborris, Co. Galway
Co. Galway |
Burial Grounds
On the south-facing slope of an esker ridge in County Galway, a scatter of loose, irregularly shaped stones lies half-forgotten beneath woodland canopy.
These stones are thought to be grave-markers, though most have shifted from wherever they were originally placed, and only a single example remained in its original position when the site was assessed. There is no enclosing wall, ditch, or boundary of any kind to frame the burial ground or signal its presence to a passing eye.
Eskers are long, sinuous ridges of gravel and sand deposited by meltwater streams running beneath glaciers during the last Ice Age, and in Ireland they frequently served as routeways and landmarks across otherwise boggy midland terrain. The choice of such a ridge for burial, here at Kilnaborris, reflects a pattern found elsewhere in the country, where elevated or distinctive landforms carried a sense of significance across many centuries. The site carries the name Crockaunduff, though its precise history, the community it served, and the period during which it was used for burial are not recorded. What is known is that by the time it was examined, livestock had already disturbed the ground, and quarrying operations immediately to the south posed a further threat to whatever remains beneath the surface.
