Grave Yard — Aglish (magunihy By.)

In pasture, on a hillock. An irregular-shaped area (max. dims. c. 40m N-S; c. 40m E-W) enclosed by a stone wall. The old parish church (KE058-024001-) is situated towards the centre and the more recent parish church (KE058-024002-) is located in the NW sector. Tombs are concentrated to the S and W of the medieval church and immediately inside the graveyard wall at N, NE and SE. Low uninscribed grave-markers are mainly concentrated in the S sector. The oldest inscribed headstone dates to 1796. Some 19th and 20th-century headstones occur within the graveyard. There is an entrance through the W wall. The graveyard has recently been extended into the field to the S. In 2009 a graveyard survey carried out by David Yates and Ann Frykler of Headland Archaeology Ltd. on behalf of Kerry County Council, recorded the following details about the graveyard: ‘Aglish graveyard is located in the townland of Aglish, County Kerry, approximately 8km northwest of Killarney with Killorglin located approximately 13km to the west. The graveyard is located on the northeast side of a narrow rural road, surrounded by pasture with three active farmsteads located within 500m to the north, southeast and southwest. The older part of the now expanded graveyard is sub-circular in plan and surrounded by a roughly curving, mortared dressed rubble limestone wall with cement render capping and decorative rubble stone crenellations. There is a single pedestrian gate located to the west side which opens onto a narrow path on the roadside. There is also a now disused stone stile located to the northeast corner. Of these entrances only the gate to the west is displayed on the OS historic maps. Located to the southeast is a recent triangular plan graveyard known as Aglish Burial Grounds that contains a formal arrangement of graves towards its centre. This graveyard is enclosed by linear boundary walls of concrete with occasional square-profile piers. The interior can be accessed from the earlier graveyard through an opening in the earlier boundary wall (to the southeast corner of the original graveyard) or through a separate gated entrance in the west wall. The boundary walls surrounding the earlier graveyard are of mortared rubble stone with rendered capping. There is also a section of recent, presumably double layered, dressed rubble limestone wall to the west, having recent cement render capping and decorative rubble stone crenellations. A well executed stile is located to the northeast corner in the earlier wall. There are two pedestrian entrances to the earlier graveyard, the first being a rubble stone stile to the northeast corner comprising of dressed limestone plinth blocks flanking a narrow opening with a rubble step and slate traversing stone. This stile is most likely a relic of a now absent mass that would have path once traversed the field to the north. The second entrance is a pedestrian gate located to the west, having square-profile gate piers carrying a wrought-iron gate which opens directly onto the roadside. Entrances to the recent burial grounds include a pedestrian gate in its western wall, having rendered square-profile piers and a metal gate. The secondary entrance lies to the northwest corner through a recently made breach in the wall of the earlier graveyard. This second entrance consists of a recently built section of concrete walling with a gap for pedestrians leading onto a gravel footpath within the later burial ground. There is a single flagged path to the earlier graveyard which follows a curvilinear route from the western gate to what was the front entrance of the more recent ruinous church (KE058-024002-). There are fourteen tombs located within the earlier graveyard, mainly concentrated around the perimeter of the ruinous remains of the two churches. A total of 57 inscribed headstones and grave plots were surveyed. There is a wide variety of headstones and grave plots throughout the earlier graveyard that range in date between the late 18th century to the late 20th century with the most recent dating from the 1990's and the earliest dating to 1796. There are a total of 56 unnamed grave markers and they are the most common form of grave marker to be found in Aglish graveyard' (Yates 2009, 5-9). See attached plan and photographs courtesy of David Yates Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of Revised upload: 18 November 2022