Grave Yd

On W side of laneway. Rectangular graveyard (c. 60m E-W; c. 80m N-S), S end (L c. 30m) added post 1842 OS 6-inch map; enclosed by stone wall. Site of medieval parish church of Kilshannig noted in charter of 1242 (MacCotter and Nicholls 1996, 65); church here reported in ruins in 1615 (Brady 1863, vol. 2, 286). At centre former C of I parish church of Kilshannig (14721). In occasional use; area of marked burials mainly SE of church; earliest headstones date from late 18th century but Fitzgerald (1917-20a) notes 17th-century inscription on altar-tomb near S wall of church, another 'box-tomb' with early 18th-century date and headstone with date of 1717. Built into W wall of graveyard is 16th-century graveslab (CO032-107004-), said to have come from Mourne Abbey (see 9550) but has been here since at least 1860 (Brady ibid., 290); design consists of seven-armed ringed cross with fleur-de-lis terminals; shaft, banded at base of cross-head, flanked by two plain square raised panels, probably intended for heraldic shields; below this, leafy frond springs from sinister side of cross shaft; raised border occurs along three surviving edges of slab (see Maher 1994). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009