Graveyard, Laghtgannon, Co. Galway

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Burial Grounds

Graveyard, Laghtgannon, Co. Galway

A road realignment is not usually the kind of event that draws attention to a medieval graveyard, but in the case of Laghtgannon in County Galway, the planned adjustment of the N59 prompted a detailed topographic survey in March 2008 that documented what lies quietly beside one of the west of Ireland's less-celebrated stretches of road.

The graveyard is roughly trapezoidal in plan, its outline preserved in several sections of low stone walling, three of which run between thirteen and fifteen metres in length and stand to a height of between fifteen and seventy-five centimetres. The southern wall section may once have continued further west, before the road cut across its path.

The graveyard is part of a broader ecclesiastical enclosure associated with Killeroon Church, a medieval structure occupying the north-eastern portion of the site. An ecclesiastical enclosure of this kind is a defined, often curvilinear area of ground that was set apart as sacred space in early and medieval Irish Christianity, sometimes predating the stone church buildings associated with it by several centuries. Within the graveyard, sixty grave-markers were identified to the north and east of the church, appearing to be arranged in rows, a layout that suggests organised, sustained use over a considerable period. Three additional markers were noted in what may be a separately enclosed area at the north-western end of the church, hinting at a possible distinction in burial status or function, though the evidence stops short of confirming this. The survey was carried out by Eachtra Archaeological Projects and reported to Galway County Council ahead of the road works.

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