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Children's burial ground in Knockdoorah

Children's burial ground

What is recorded here

Knockdoorah holds a children's burial ground inside the north-west quadrant of an old rath, where unbaptised infants were laid to rest instead of the main churchyard. Briars still choke a scattered line of stones, hiding the exact marks but preserving the shape of the tragedy. The place stopped serving that purpose in the late 1900s, yet it was reused in the mid-19th century, proving that grief returns to the same earth even when official memory has moved on.
In the NW quadrant of a rath (KE068-001001-). In the 1940s it was recorded that unbaptised children were buried in 'an old fort [KE068-001001-]' in Tom Daly's land (Schools Manuscript, Co. Kerry). According to local information, a scatter of stones, which is partially obscured by briars, may indicate the location of the children's burial ground. Dennehy (1997, 168) recorded that the ceallúnach went out of use in the late 1900s but was re-used on a subsequent occasion in the mid 19th century. Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork. Date of upload: 31 January 2011

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What survives
Recorded monument

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