What is recorded here

Cloonturk held a children's burial ground inside a rath, yet the exact spot has vanished. Aldridge recorded the place in 1969, but his coordinates now point to a grass-grown quarry pit rather than a burial ground. The true location may lie beneath one of two destroyed raths still named in the townland.

This record refers to a children’s burial ground in Cloonturk townland, which was recorded by Aldridge (1969, 86). He listed the OS 6-inch co-ordinates as ‘w 48cm, n 14.8 cm’ and noted that it was ‘in a rath’. These co-ordinates place the burial ground at approximately ITM 522778 816033. At that location, which was inspected in 1996, there is no trace of a children’s burial ground or a rath. In the field there is a disused, grass-grown quarry pit (diam. c. 15m; max. D c. 2m), partly obscured by brambles and hawthorn. There is no evidence that the pit was used as a burial ground. It seems likely that there is an error in Aldridge’s published co-ordinates. Two possible raths (MA039-022----; MA039-049----), both now destroyed, are located in Cloonturk townland; the children's burial ground may have been located in one of these. The exact location of this children’s burial ground remains unknown. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 13 September 2019

A children's burial ground within a rath, likely dating to the Early Christian or medieval period. Its significance lies in the rare focus on infant or child burials, offering insight into burial practices and social attitudes towards childhood in early Irish settlements.

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.