What is recorded here

Graveyard in Abbeyland South is a lost burial place beside the River Blackwater where St Mary's abbey stood before a cavalry barracks paved over its memory. The stones may have rolled into drill yards or vanished entirely, yet the ground still belongs to the dead beneath the noise of horses and men. Forgetting is not the same as erasing; it is only a room with the lights turned off.

St Mary's abbey (ME025-024----) was located N of Navan, between the town and the NW-SE River Blackwater. At the Suppression in 1539-40 it was the parish church (White 1943, 250) and continued to act as such. However, by 1693 it was in ruins and Dopping recorded many inscriptions from it (Reynell 1888-91). Later the site was transformed into a cavalry barracks, and Cogan (1862-70, 1, 228) deplores the abuse the graveyard suffered at the hands of the military. No trace of it remains, although the location is generally known. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 19 December, 2014

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.