Grave Yard — Ballyconnell

In 2012 a graveyard survey carried out by Laurence Dunne recorded the following details: 'Kilflynn church and graveyard is situated on sloping ground in the centre of the village of Kilflynn. The name Kilflynn-Cill Floinn translates as ‘the church of Saint Flann’ or ‘Floinn’, an early Irish saint of whom there is very little known (O’Donovan 1841, 36). Given the early seventh century date for the saint, it is possible that there may have been an early medieval ecclesiastic enclosure in Kilflynn for which no relict remains survive. The sub-rectangular graveyard of Kilflynn today is small neat and tidy albeit the southwestern corner and southern boundary limits are very overgrown bumpy and unmanaged. The upstanding church today is protestant church which was built in 1811 with a later addition of a bell tower added in 1840. It is surrounded by a graveyard occupied by both Catholic and Protestant burials. St. Columba’s church was restored between 1990-1993 and is now used as a community hall. The building is in good order with forward rib pointing. The main entrance into the modern graveyard is via a pair of iron gates between two robust square limestone piers, capped and in good order. The gates are set within a rounded recessed entranceway that provides very limited vehicular access directly beside the church. A mixed concrete block and rubble stone wall and flat capping extends north from the entrance and returns west. The wall is very low comprising of only two courses in places and has a pedestrian gapped entrance on the rounded corner. The south boundary wall is constructed with local rubble limestone and is covered in ivy and mature trees. The west boundary comprises a 1.4m high rubble stone capped wall in good condition. Apart from some ivy on the older rubble stone wall there are no breaches and are in general good order. There are twenty-three, (23), tombs within the old medieval graveyard disposed around outside the south and south-western limits of the graveyard with only the Parkinson family tomb (TB7) situated on the north of the church. The tombs are, for the most part, of the ‘strong-box’ and gabled style. Two are ashlar or partially ashlar while the remainder are constructed with rubble stone and rendered or partially rendered. There are 106 recorded named headstones in total at Kilflynn. The earliest headstone recorded in the medieval burial ground (HS 106) records the death of Phillip Carrell who died in 1735. There is only one horizontal rectangular graveslab in Kilflynn graveyard and is illegible. There are eight unhewn gravemarkers in Kilflynn graveyard. Five of which are located to the south of the church where the ground is more irregular and the grass higher. There is a single perforated or holed stone in the western limits of Kilflynn graveyard at the rear of the church'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 13 June 2022