Calluragh Burial Ground, Rinn Chonaill, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Burial Grounds

Calluragh Burial Ground, Rinn Chonaill, Co. Kerry

At the head of a broad valley running north from Dingle Harbour, a low stony bank traces a near-square outline in the hillside.

Inside it: a burial ground, a large stone cross, and the uncertain remains of what may once have been a hut. The enclosure is not dramatically ruined nor impressively preserved; it sits quietly on a south-facing slope, easy to overlook, its boundaries worn down to no more than 75 centimetres in height. What makes it worth pausing over is precisely this ambiguity, the way so many of its basic questions remain open.

Known in Irish as An Cheallúnach, a word that shares its root with cill, the term for an early ecclesiastical enclosure or cell, the site measures roughly 28.6 metres east to west and 30.3 metres north to south. The boundary bank that defines it all around is thought to be either the debris of a former stone wall or the remnant of a stone-faced earthen bank; surveyors have not been able to determine which. The original entrance is equally unclear. There are gaps in the bank to the south and at the north-east corner, and two possible jambstones, the upright stones that would have flanked a doorway, stand about a metre apart in the east bank, though they rise only some 40 centimetres above ground. The graves themselves are concentrated in the eastern half of the enclosure, each marked by a low mound no more than 1.5 metres in length, sometimes with a small upright stone at either end. The description of the site was first published in J. Cuppage's 1986 archaeological survey of the Dingle Peninsula, Corca Dhuibhne, a detailed inventory that remains a key reference for the region's early Christian and prehistoric monuments.

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 Calluragh Burial Ground, Rinn Chonaill, 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