Burial in Cleghile

At W end of natural esker ridge which extends roughly E-W. The ridge is locally known as the 'hill of the skull'. The W end of the ridge has been scarped to form an irregular earthwork (TS067-122001-). Portion of this earthwork now forms part of the railway embankment along the N side of the railway line which runs E-W immediately S of the earthwork. The S portion of the earthwork has been transected by a roadway which runs parallel to the railway line. Earth removal along the railway embankment and the excavation of a ditch on the S side of the road where it cuts through the earthwork revealed human bones. Flynn (1913, 18-20) equates the townland of Cleghile, together with the neighbouring townlands of Corrogemore and Corrogebeg with the early medieval area known as Cnamchoill. At Cnamchoill a battle took place between Brian Boru and the Danes, he suggests that this battlefield (TS067-096----) is at Cleghile (ibid.). He mentions that 'Bones are still dug up in Cleghile occasionally - the skeletons of "very tall men" (ibid.). The relationship between the burials and the possible battlefield has not been established. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011