What is recorded here

Grave Yd is a living circular graveyard on a low Cork hill where stones from the 1720s still mark the dead. One 1724 heart and one 1733 whirl belong to the earliest recorded shapes in Imokilly, while the lost Kilmacdonagh parish church has vanished beneath the grass. People may have walked this narrow laneway for centuries, carrying grief past ruins until the graves themselves became the visible centre of the place.

On top of a low hill, approached by laneway from N; roughly circular graveyard (diam. c. 60m), still in occasional use. Earliest headstones date from 1720s; headstone dated 1724 decorated with earliest recorded 'Heart motif' in Imokilly, another dated 1733 bears earliest recorded 'Whirls' in same area (O'Shea 1988, 70 & 75). No visible surface remains of Kilmacdonagh parish church (CO078-004002-), shown as rectangular structure on 1842 OS 6-inch map, but marked 'site of' on later editions of map; it was in ruins by 1615 (Brady 1863, vol. 2, 268). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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