That absence is part of what makes Cloheen, or Cloithín in Irish, quietly puzzling. Burial grounds without churches are not unheard of in Ireland, yet the combination here of active, well-tended memorials, a probable medieval predecessor, and a pattern day observed well into the nineteenth century suggests a place that carried considerable local importance long after its original structures had vanished entirely from the ground.

When the Ordnance Survey Letters recorded the site in 1840, their correspondent noted that the graveyard was "at present much used" and that monumental stones belonging to respectable local families stood within its walls. He also mentioned that a patron, a pattern day gathering of prayer and communal observance traditionally linked to a saint's feast, was held there on the 3rd of August, described as Lady Day. No traces of a church were visible even then. Archaeological survey has since identified a slight rise of ground in the northern quadrant of the roughly rectangular enclosure, measuring approximately 43 metres north to south and 32 metres east to west, as a possible site of a medieval church. A stone bearing what may be a cross-inscription has also been recorded in that same northern section. The surrounding wall post-dates 1700, though the burial ground it encloses is considerably older.

The graveyard sits on elevated pasture with open views in most directions, which makes it easy to spot once you are in the right townland, though the entrance is a stile in the eastern wall rather than a gate, so the approach is on foot. Memorials dating from the eighteenth century onwards are distributed across the interior. The northern section, where the ground rises perceptibly, rewards a closer look, particularly for anyone interested in the possible cross-inscribed stone, which is subtle enough to be easy to overlook.