Grave Yd. — Ballyeagh,killehenny

Described by Toal (1995, no. 934) as follows; 'Killehenny (site of) graveyard. According to Westropp (1909, 30): 'The parish took its name Killehenny from St Eithne's Church. The building is destroyed but the site is marked by the mound and a group of the older tombstones in the SE corner of the cemetery (KE004-043001-) in the shelter of the great sand-dunes near the River Cashen. The saint's day was in June either on the 6th or 12th.' In 2011 a graveyard survey carried out by Ann Frykler and Robert Hanbidge of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details: 'The graveyard is located on the eastern edge of a ridge of sand dunes that are located close to the coast. As a result the interior of the graveyard is undulated. The original plan of the graveyard was sub‐oval, however a recent extension to the south has made the graveyard plan more rectangular. Within the graveyard is the site of a church (KE004‐043----) which is no longer visible at ground level. The oldest grave recorded within the graveyard bears a date of 1791 and belongs to Grave No. 377. The boundary walls surrounding the historic area of the graveyard are of roughly dressed mortared rubblestone with rubble stone coping. They vary in height from 1.4 m to just under 2 m at the highest point to the north. For the most part the boundary survives in good condition, except for the south‐western portion which is no longer extant and is now marked by a low grass covered bank with patches of stonework visible. This is partially due to a need to provide access to the graveyard extension. Some of the new graves in this extension are located on top of the remains of the boundary wall. The primary access to the historic section of the graveyard is through a pedestrian entrance which is located in the eastern boundary. The entrance comprises of a pair of dressed limestone gate‐piers with roughly dressed rubble limestone capping. There are 16 named tombs represented in Killehenny Graveyard. The majority of these date to the mid nineteenth century and are concentrated in the south‐eastern area of the historic section of the graveyard. The oldest identified tomb was Grave No. 49 which dated to 1827. There are 2 unnamed tombs within Killehenny Graveyard, represented by Grave Nos. 146 and 105. There are 334 named headstones and plots in the historic section of Killehenny Graveyard. The majority of these are in good condition and mostly date to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The oldest inscribed headstone is at Grave No. 377, commemorates ‘Don, Kissane’, and carries a date of 1791. There are 16 unnamed or illegible headstones and plots present within Killehenny Graveyard. In total 98 unnamed gravemarkers were recorded within Killehenny Graveyard. The majority of these are scattered throughout the graveyard and generally consist of simple thin slabs of locally sourced stone, which were placed in the ground e.g. Grave No. 13. Located in the north‐western quadrant of the graveyard is an unusual gravemarker (Grave No. 470). This stone consists of a possible saddle quern which had an inscribed cross on the rear (west) elevation' (Hanbidge 2011, 7-12). See attached plan of graveyard courtesy of Robert Hanbidge Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 9 June 2022