What is recorded here

Caldragh, the Grave Yard at the head of a small Monaghan valley, has watched the land since before the first surveyors marked it in 1834. Charcoal and bone still sleep beneath its shallow soil, perhaps belonging to children whose names never reached any book. The western bank and eastern scarp remain visible, holding a shape that ploughs and forgetting cannot erase.

Situated at the head of a small W-E valley. It is depicted as a small subrectangular area (dims c. 30m N-S; c. 25m E-W) described in italic lettering as a ‘Grave Yard’ on the 1834 edition of the OS 6-inch map and described as a “Caldragh’ or the site of a grave yard in gothic lettering on the 1907 edition. It was described in the 1940s (SMR file) as a patch of untilled ground (dims c. 21m x c. 18m; max. H 0.4m) with some stones in the interior and traces of walls at W and E. There was some charcoal and bone in the matrix. The bank at W (Wth 2m; H 0.45m) and a slight scarp at E (H 0.35m) were present in 1968, but there were no stones in the interior. It may have been a Childrens’ burial ground. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Monaghan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 23 February 2018

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