What is recorded here

Keeloge Burial Gd. is a D-shaped graveyard in County Laois where the church of St. Aedhog vanished without a trace, leaving only uninscribed markers and one tomb from about 1850. A rough freestone holy water font, perhaps hidden in the Gowl River to protect it from desecration, was later recovered and returned to the yard. The place holds the quiet strangeness of a community that stopped naming its dead but kept returning what the river took.

This is the church of St. Aedhog, Maedhog or Mogue (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 229-30) that is located in the N quadrant of a D-sahped graveyard (int. dims. c. 40m N-S x 23m E-W) with straight side at E ( L c. 40m). Numerous uninscribed gravemarkers visible. Described by Carrigan as 'The churchyard of 'Kyleogue' or 'Killogue' is situated in the townland of Ballybooden. The church (LA029-041001-) has disappeared, not even a trace of its foundations being left. But few interments take place here now. There is but one inscribed tomb; it dates about 1850. Some years ago the holy water font (LA029-041003-), recovered from the Gowl River, to which, perhaps, pious hands had committed it, to save it from desecration, was again brought back to the churchyard; it is of freestone, very rough, with bowl 12 in. in diameter and 7 in. deep.' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 229). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

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