What is recorded here

Thirty metres of forgotten dead stretch beneath Waterford's streets, recorded since 1449 but never found despite digging. The graveyard belonged to St Michael's church, narrow as a ribbon and long as a ship's keel, running from Michael Street toward Spring Garden Alley. People walked over it for centuries, dropping litter and building houses above bones they never suspected. Forgetting is not emptiness; it is a lock waiting for the right knife.

The parish church of St Michael (WA009-005025-) with references dating from 1449 when a cemetery is also recorded (Bradley et al. 1989, vol. 2, 247). It is shown as a narrow elongated area (dims. c. 60m E-W; c. 10m N-S) extending S from the church but not as far as Little Michael St. and reaching almost from Michael St. in the west to Spring Garden Alley at the E on Leahy's map of 1834. Archaeological testing (04E1344) by Orla Scully just S of the remains of the church during 2004 failed to produce any evidence of it. (Scully 2007) Bradley, J., Halpin, A. and King, H. (1989) Urban archaeology Survey of Waterford City and County, 2 vols. Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works. Scully, O. (2007) 35 Michael Street, Waterford. No archaeological significance. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2004: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 431, No. 1698. Wordwell. Dublin Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 07 December 2010

Medieval Christian cemetery; associated with the parish church of St Michael from at least the 15th century. Its significance lies in its long-standing religious and community role within Waterford City.

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