Grave Yard — Rathgarve

Situated atop hillock with good views of surrounding countryside. Rathgarve church (WM003-068----) ruins stand in the centre of a D-shaped graveyard with possible medieval roadway running N-S forming E boundary of graveyard. A tower house (WM003-066----) and mill (WM003-066002-) stands 430m to the S with a wayside cross (WM003-044----) 490m to the NNW, a 17th century wayside cross (WM003-069----) lies 100m to S with motte and bailey (WM003-070----) 115m to SSE. Described in 1980 as 'The graveyard (WM003-068001-) is a roughly D-shaped enclosure (approx. dims. 66m N-S by 42m E-W) bounded by a post-1700 stone wall, the straight side of the D is along a N-S laneway on the E, there are no indications of a larger enclosure extending to the E of this laneway. The ground there slopes down away from the lane. Inside the wall and at varying distances from it there is a steep but fairly low scarp in places which may mark the outline of an earlier & smaller enclosure. The ground outside the wall is at a lower level than inside it as if the wall was built against a scarp. The graveyard contains a large no. of gravestones mainly 19th and 20th century, but possibly also some later 18th century, difficult to decipher the inscriptions. The monument is on a rise on the summit of a large N-S ridge in undulating pasture with very good views all round' (SMR file 1980). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 19 July 2010