What is recorded here

Grave Yard stands on the southern shore of the Owennacurra river, a triangular stone enclosure where the tide still laps at the edge of the dead. A 1743 headstone carves a skeleton holding the scythe of time, reminding the living that the river and the grave share the same hunger. The ruined watch house at the gate suggests someone once stayed beside the buried, perhaps to keep the water out or the secrets in.

On S shore of tidal stretch in Owennacurra river, c. 500m W of Ballynacorra village; roughly triangular yard (c. 60m N-S; c. 60m E-W), enclosed by stone wall to S and W, shoreline to NE. Ruins of parish church of Ballynacorra (CO076-04203-) near shoreline to N. In occasional use; inscribed headstones date from 1740 (Henchion 1990); decorated headstone, dated 1743, shows 'skeleton, representing Death... holding the Scythe of Time. The hourglass, another attribute of Time, counter balances this on the left' (O'Shea 1988, 78). At SE corner, just inside gate, ruins of watch house: gabled rectangular structure (4m E-W; 3m N-S) with door in W wall and fireplace in E wall; according to Henchion (ibid.) inhabited 'within living memory'. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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