Graveyard, Sraleagh, Co. Kilkenny

Co. Kilkenny |

Burial Grounds

Graveyard, Sraleagh, Co. Kilkenny

In a field in the Kilkenny townland of Sraleagh, an irregularly shaped enclosure roughly 53 metres long holds the remains of what was once a functioning parish church.

It does not appear on any edition of the Ordnance Survey six-inch or twenty-five-inch maps, and for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries it existed mainly in written memory rather than on any official record. It was only located during fieldwork in 1987, when its outline was traced through the shape of the ground itself.

The church here was known as Kilcormaic, and it served as a parochial church up to the Reformation, after which its parish was absorbed into that of Donnoughmore. By the time the Ordnance Survey letters were being compiled in 1839, what remained was described simply as a small burying ground and the foundation of a church; the building had already been reduced to its footprint. When the historian William Carrigan wrote about the site in 1905, he noted that only one inscribed stone survived in the graveyard, dating from around 1840, and that occasional interments were still taking place. The place had not been entirely abandoned, then, even in its diminished state; people were still being buried there within living memory of his writing, and quite possibly after it.

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, Sraleagh, Co. Kilkenny. 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