What is recorded here

Infants died young in County Mayo and the community gave them a separate walled place before the larger graveyard swallowed it. That child-sized urgency still shows in the old Celtic cross stones, now buried inside a much bigger medieval-looking rectangle. The dead did not ask to be measured or named on maps; they asked to be held apart, remembered, and left in darkness.

On fairly level ground at base of SW facing slope. Not indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map; indicated on the 25-inch plan as subrectangular enclosure (c. 20m NW-SW; c. 35m NE-SW) named ‘Infants’ Burial Ground’; it is marked “Burial Gd.” on the 1915 OS 6-inch edition. It is now subsumed into the NE end of a large, modern rectangular, walled graveyard. The NW and NE walls of the modern graveyard appear to coincide with the original NW and NE limits of the older burial ground; a low stony scarp (H 0.3m) may preserve its SE side; there is no trace of the SW side. Late 19th and early 20th century headstones of the “Celtic cross” type are evident within the area of the old burial ground. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 23 June 2023

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.