What is recorded here

Half a metre of loose earth in Srah hid a broken skull and scattered ribs, waiting for workmen to dig them out near Tullamore in 1951. They saw ordinary stones and soil, not a person, until the shape of the bones became clear. The men reburied the remains before anyone could ask whose life had ended there or why the head faced downward. The site disappeared back into the ground, denying the dead even the chance of being named.

Unlocated burial within the townland of Srah (Cahill & Sikora 2011, vol. 2, 509). The files of the National Museum of Ireland records that in August 1951 the Evening Herald published a report on the discovery of remains at Srah, near Tullamore, Co. Offaly. A report subsequently received by the Gardai stated that portion of a skull, some leg bones, pelvic bones and ribs were discovered at a depth of c. 0.5m on a construction site. Most of the bones had been removed from their context before they were recognised as human. According to the workmen, the skull appeared to be facing downwards when discovered. There were no flags, stones, or other protective structures viisble in the vicinity of the bones. As the human remains had been reburied prior to the report in the Evening Herald, the site was not investigated (NMI file).

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