What is recorded here

Emlagh holds a child's burial from the 17th century or later, preserved in bog rather than forgotten. The boy or girl wore a long dress and cloak, carried a leather purse with flax and wool, and left behind a wooden comb. That is not a vague myth; it is a life interrupted, recorded, and returned to the earth.

In 1950 a clothed body was found buried 1m deep in a bog in Emlagh townland and a detailed report was published in 1966 (Shee and O'Kelly 1966, 81-91). The find spot was incorrectly recorded as being in Cloghane Parish, but several independent sources, including an eye witness to the discovery, identify the find spot as Emlagh townland in Ballinvoher parish and, more precisely, near the N corner of the townland in an area now forested. The body, with a considerable amount of reddish brown hair, was that of a child of 6 to 8 years, probably a male. It was wearing a long pinafore-like dress and a possible cloak and there were several fragments of 2 other garments. Accompanying the body were a double-sided wooden comb and a leather purse containing a tuft of flax fibres and a ball of woollen thread. It was considered that the burial was unlikely to be older than the 17th century and probably somewhat later. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 201. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013

A clothed bog body from the Early Iron Age; significant for providing insights into prehistoric burial practices and preservation conditions in Irish peat bogs.

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