What is recorded here

Killeen Burial Ground in County Kerry, Ireland, held only children. That is why the grave markers stand so short, no taller than a knee, arranged in neat rows across a small rectangular patch of pasture near Kenmare Bay. Adults would have needed taller stones, but these little ones fit the land exactly as they were. The site stopped receiving burials before the twentieth century, yet the children remain arranged like a quiet class, waiting for nobody to call their names.

Killeen Burial Ground: Field boundaries define the NW and SE limits of this subrectangular burial area, which is located in pasture a short distance from the N shore of Kenmare Bay. Its NE and SW sides are defined by rough lines of boulders and the site measures 22.5m NE-SW x 12.2m NW-SE internally. A series of upright grave-markers, set in regular NE-SW rows, occupy the interior of the site, towards the centre of which are a number of prostrate slabs and a scattering of stones. Two prominent pillar-like slabs, located at NE, measure .85m and .65m high. The site was no longer in use as a burial ground by the late nineteenth century. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1022. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 July 2013

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