Grave Yard, Ballyglass, Co. Galway
Co. Galway |
Burial Grounds
The townland of Ballyglass in County Galway contains a graveyard that has been formally recorded as an archaeological monument, meaning it is considered to be of sufficient age and historical significance to warrant protected status under Irish law.
Beyond that basic fact, however, the details of this particular site remain largely uncharted in the publicly available record, which places it among a category of places that are known to exist, known to matter, and yet not yet fully described or explained.
Graveyards of this kind in rural Connacht often have long and layered histories. Many began as early Christian burial grounds attached to a church or chapel that has since disappeared entirely, leaving only the enclosure and the stones. Others served as childrens' burial grounds, known in Irish as cilliní, where unbaptised infants were interred separately from consecrated ground, a practice that continued in parts of Ireland into the twentieth century. Without more specific information it is not possible to say with confidence which category applies here, or whether the site has been disturbed, surveyed, or partially excavated at any point in its history. What can be said is that Ballyglass, as a placename, derives from the Irish Baile Glas, meaning green townland or green settlement, a name common across Ireland and typically indicating fertile or well-watered ground, the kind of land that has attracted continuous habitation across many centuries.