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Billew Burying Ground

Children's burial ground

What is recorded here

Billew Burying Ground in County Galway is a children's burial ground where set stones mark east-west graves inside a rough fifteen-by-ten-metre rectangle. It sits beside a possible ecclesiastical enclosure and a holy tree to its east, suggesting a sacred landscape rather than a common graveyard. The small size and child-focused character imply a painful local history, perhaps fever, birth danger or forgotten sorrow, yet the stones still align like a quiet promise that these little lives were counted and kept apart.
Associated with a possible ecclesiastical enclosure (GA117-064002-). Named 'Billew Burial Ground on the OS 6-inch maps, this very poorly preserved children’s burial ground is defined by an unenclosed roughly rectangular area (L 15m, W 10m). It contains numerous set stones indicating graves aligned E-W. A holy tree (GA117-064001-) was located to its E. Compiled by: Galway Archaeological Survey, UCG Date of upload: 6 October 2017

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
Recorded monument

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