Burial ground in Burgagery-Lands West

In 1993 an area W of the town wall, on the W side of Emmet St. was excavated (Excavation Licence no. 93E0067) (Stack 1993, unpublished report). Burials, representing a minimum number of nine individuals were uncovered, including six articulated skeletons, five were orientated E-W and one was orientated N-S. The other remains were very fragmentary (Power 1997, 112-23). Of those buried E-W, there were two pairs buried together (ibid. 6). Clay pipes were found in association with two of the burials (ibid. 6-7). The N-S skeleton appeared to be holding a set of rosary beads at time of burial and was accompanied by a Charles II half penny coin dating to 1680-84 (ibid. 7). The excavator speculated that the burials may have been associated with the jail which was erected in Lough St, opposite the present St Peter and Paul's RC church, in the late 1600s and demolished in 1790 (ibid. 3). Following an examination of the remains, it was possible to determine the sex of 6 of the individuals, all of which were male (Power 1997, 113). It was not possible to determine the cause of death in any of the individuals (ibid. 118). The full extent of the burial ground was not determined. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011