Grave Yard

Situated on a slight E-facing slope, with the SW-NE River Boyne in its steep-sided valley c. 450m to the E and S. The early ecclesiastical site, known as Domhnach Mór Maigh Echnach and the parish church of Donnaghmore (ME025-015001-) is within a subrectangular graveyard (dims c. 45m NE-SW; c. 40m NW-SE) defined by masonry walls. The round tower (ME025-015002-), two cross-slabs (ME025-015006-; ME025-015007-) and the graveslab (ME025-015005-) are within the graveyard. The fragment of a high cross (ME025-015004-), now in the National Museum of Ireland, is likely to have come from the graveyard. (Wilde 1850, 135-8) Archaeological testing (99E0480) on the line of the road c. 70m to the SE at the closest point by Donald Murphy produced no related material (excavations.ie 1999:682), but further testing (05E0027) by R. Meenan on the site of a single house c. 100m SW of the graveyard uncovered a small pit (diam. c. 3m; D 0.9m) filled with a loose grey silty soil with charcoal flecks, redeposited boulder clay and a single animal jawbone (excavations.ie 2005:1171). This development did not proceed. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 27 June, 2014 Amended: 8 August, 2014, 30 March 2023

Early medieval monastic site, likely 7th–10th century AD, associated with the ecclesiastical tradition of the River Boyne region. Its significance lies in its connection to the broader network of monastic settlements in medieval Ireland.