What is recorded here
An Mhuiríoch is a forgotten burial ground where four lintel graves lay hidden in sea sand until house builders broke the surface in September 1948. The dead stretched west-east with their heads toward the setting sun, three clustered together and one slightly apart. They had waited patiently beneath the shifting beach, unchanged since before memory, until ordinary labour revealed what the tide and time had concealed.
In September 1948, four lintel graves (c. L 2m; Wth 0.75m) were discovered during the construction of a new house in Murreagh village. The burials were at a depth of c. 1m below ground surface, in sea sand. The burials, occuring in a group of three with one a few metres south, were all extended and aligned west-east, with the head to west. (Cahill and Sikora 2011, Vol. 2, 47-48)
Compiled by: Matt Kelleher
Date of upload: 28 January 2013
Lintel graves, likely dating to the Early Christian period, possibly 6th–9th century AD. These burials are significant as rare examples of early Christian funerary structures in a coastal setting, potentially linked to a local monastic or settlement site.
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
Enclosure in An Mhuiríoch (tc Cill Maoilchéadar)Enclosure · 551 yd
Hut site in An CharraigHut site · 555 yd
Murreagh Church (Kilmalkedar)church/chapel · 971 yd
Gallarus Castle (in ruins)Castle, tower house · 1288 yd
Trá an FhíonaBeach / strand · 1.0 mi
Gallarus OratoryHeritage attraction · 1.1 mi
Tráigh Bhéal BánBeach / strand · 1.8 mi
Binn BreacMountain / peak · 2.0 mi