What is recorded here

No one knows who is buried there or whether anyone is buried there at all. A man ploughing a small hill east of Ballina in 1935 broke through the top soil and found a box of rough stones set in mortar, no larger than a child's bed. The Gardai measured it, dug two feet, and stopped. Nothing came up but dirt and the smell of rain. The hill keeps its distance, neither confirming nor denying, which is more alive than any answer would be.

This record is listed in the SMR (1991) as a possible burial based on a stone-lined structure, which was uncovered in 1935 by a local man while ploughing on top of a small hill on the E side of Ballina town (NMI Topographical Files). The find was examined by the Gardai, who recorded ‘a number of rough stones placed in the form of a grave, and about one foot [ 0.3m] from the surface of the earth. The stones were dressed with mortar. The stones were of different shapes and sizes. The supposed grave was about 3 foot long [0.9m] and 3 foot wide [0.9m]. The depth of the grave is unknown as it was only explored to a depth of 2 feet [0.6m]…’. No evidence of a bones or a burial were found. The exact nature and location of this find remains unknown. It was located within 30m of two large slabs, visible just below the surface, which were interpreted as a possible cist (MA030-086002-). Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 6 June 2018

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