What is recorded here

Burial in Grahamsland records a forgotten cluster of west-facing skeletons disturbed beneath a new housing estate in May 1952. The bones had appeared there before, yet the site was paved over before proper examination. They were taken by Gardaí and never acquired by the Museum, leaving the dead nameless while the living moved into the houses above them.

‘In May 1952 human remains were discovered during the digging of trenches for the construction of a housing estate at Grahamsland, near Castlefin, Co. Donegal. The remains were found at a depth of c.0.4m below ground level and, according to the finders, bones had been found at the same location a number of years previously. The site was reported to the Gardaí, who took possession of the bones and informed the National Museum. Apparently the houses were already built by the time of reporting, and the find-spot had been disturbed. According to reports, over a dozen skeletons were found, but each was only partially exposed. The remains were articulated, probably supine and extended, with the heads placed towards the west. The site was not examined by Museum personnel and the human remains were not acquired.' (Cahill and Sikora 2011, Vol. 2, 466-7) A footnote in the 2011 publication records that this burial was located in the ‘Parish of Donaghmore, barony of Raphoe. OS 6in. sheet 79’. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revision: 25 March 2014

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