Graveyard, Kilbride, Co. Wicklow

Co. Wicklow |

Burial Grounds

Graveyard, Kilbride, Co. Wicklow

A graveyard on the north-east edge of a low ridge above the Brittas river in County Wicklow holds rather more history than its present appearance suggests.

At ground level there is no visible trace of the Anglo-Norman parish church that is thought to have once stood here, yet the site quietly accumulates evidence of its own layered past. An earthen bank, roughly 2.5 metres wide and 1.8 metres high, survives on the eastern side, predating the eighteenth-century graveyard wall that most visitors would notice first. This earlier enclosure speaks to a settlement of some kind well before the wall was built, even if its precise origins remain uncertain.

The church believed to have occupied the site was Anglo-Norman in character, a form of ecclesiastical architecture introduced to Ireland following the twelfth-century Norman invasion, typically built in stone and serving a defined parish territory. Liam Price, writing in 1953, noted the probable connection. Local tradition adds another thread: a font, the stone basin used for baptismal water, is said to have originated here before being moved to St Brigid's Church, which stands roughly 200 metres to the west. Whether that removal happened at the church's abandonment or at some later point is not recorded. Inside the graveyard's western sector, an early graveslab survives in situ. A second carved stone, a cross-slab, has long since left the site; it was acquired by the National Museum of Ireland, where it is held under registration number 1970:189.

For those who visit, the most tangible physical feature is the earthen bank on the eastern boundary, which rewards a close look precisely because it predates the more obvious stonework nearby. The graveslab in the western sector is the other detail worth seeking out, a quiet remnant of early medieval commemorative carving still resting more or less where it was originally placed.

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 Graveyard, Kilbride, Co. Wicklow. 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.

Kilbride, Co. Wicklow
53.19869043,-6.46402707

Ref: WI02082

Nearby Places

Advertisement