Grave Yd. — Lissaniska (iraghticonnor By.)

Knockanure Church and graveyard (KE011-022001-) described by Toal (1995, no. 941) as follows; 'Knockanure Church (in ruins), graveyard. The remains of this rectangular church are situated in a graveyard. Knockanure Church was administered by the Augustinian canons of Rattoo. Cormac O'Connor, one of its early rectors, resigned in 1434 to become a monk. He was succeeded by Donatus O'Kennelly, who held the parish for a year before being deposed and succeeded by Dermot O'Scanlon in 1435. According to the 1704 registration of priests 'Godfry Daily' was ministering here at the beginning of the 18th century'. In 2011 a graveyard survey carried out by Ann Frykler and Robert Hanbidge of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details: ‘The graveyard is positioned on the crest of a hill with the landscape increasing in height to the east. The prominent position of this graveyard on the crest of a hill provides extensive panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. The graveyard has a rectangular shape in plan and is enclosed by rubble stone walls. Located adjacent to the northern boundary wall are the ruins of a church [KE011-022----] of which all four walls survive. The ruins survive in a reasonably stable condition, although much of the finer stonework around the quoins has been robbed out. Access to graves within the graveyard is enhanced through the recent addition of an excellent tarmac path in the interior. The boundary walls surrounding the graveyard consist of roughly dressed mortared rubble stone with rubble stone coping. However there are parts of the boundary walls especially in the eastern sections where the rubblestone coping has been replaced by recent render coping. There has also been some modification to the eastern boundary wall, where a new projecting section has been constructed to accommodate a new altar for the graveyard. The graveyard is accessed from the car parking area through a single gated entrance which is located in the northern end of the eastern boundary. This entrance consists of a pair of square‐profile tooled limestone block gate piers surmounted by tooled limestone capping and support a historic set of double‐leaf cast‐iron gates. An historic stile is located immediately to the north of this entrance and is unfortunately in poor condition and overgrown with ivy. The stile comprises of several projecting flagstones protruding from the wall at both the east and west elevations which form steps to give access over the wall. However, many of the steps are missing with only one step surviving in the exterior (east) elevation while three steps survive in the interior (west) elevation. Due to overgrowth and the missing steps the stile is no longer usable. There are only 2 named tombs (Grave Nos. 1 and 158) recorded at Knockanure Graveyard. The first tomb (Grave No. 1) is located immediately inside the entrance and is good condition. The tomb has a rectangular shape in plan and is externally rendered. A centrally located limestone plaque is located above the eastern entrance. Cast‐iron balustrades with linking chains form a small cordoned off court to the east. The second tomb (Grave No. 158) is located in the south‐western quadrant of the graveyard close to the southern boundary. This is a more elaborate example of a tomb and is constructed from tooled limestone with ashlar bonded walls which are surmounted by an unadorned cornice and a hipped roof with a central tooled limestone capstone. There are 2 unnamed tombs (Grave Nos. 105 and 204) within Knockanure Graveyard. The first unnamed tomb (Grave No. 105) is located in the southeast of the church ruin and is in good condition. The tomb is an unusually low example and is constructed in tooled limestone. The second unnamed tomb (Grave No. 204) is located within the interior of the church ruin. It survives in poor condition and is quite overgrown (Plate 13). This tomb is also distinguished by its unusual shape, as it possesses a barrel vaulted roof, which makes it rather unique within the graveyards of County Kerry. There are 125 named headstones and plots at Knockanure Graveyard. The majority of these are in good condition and mostly date to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The oldest inscribed headstone bears a date of 1803 and belonged to Grave No. 132, commemorating Patrick Kins. Overall, there were 20 unnamed or illegible headstones and plots recorded during the survey. The majority of these unnamed headstones did hold inscriptions, however these are now illegible. There are 4 named gravemarkers within Knockanure Graveyard (Grave Nos. 9, 21, 72 and 184). In total 74 unnamed gravemarkers were recorded within Knockanure Graveyard. The majority of these were scattered throughout the graveyard and generally consisted of simple locally sourced stone, which was split into thin pieces and placed in the ground. Five lintelled graves (Grave Nos. 88, 203, 210, 214 and 215) were recorded within Knockanure Graveyard. These generally consist of horizontally laid slabs covering an underground burial. Erosion of the soil has resulted in these graves been exposed. The majority of the graves are unmarked however Grave No. 210 did have an unnamed gravemarker identifying the presence of the burial Architectural Fragments Miscellaneous No. 02: Tooled limestone block which either formed part of a window surround or door jamb. The piece is currently loose and sitting within long grass. Miscellaneous No. 04: Another tooled limestone block with a large rebate cut in the southern side. Possibly formed part of a window surround or door jamb. Also forms gravemarker to Grave No. 222' (Hanbidge 2011, 5-12). See attached plan of church and graveyard courtesy of Robert Hanbidge Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 10 June 2022