What is recorded here

St Josephs Cemetery in Ballypheane, County Cork, holds a hidden SW corner where Famine and pauper victims rest unmarked beneath soil that has never been named. The oldest stone, dated 1780, still stands inside the original square yard, while newer concrete walls mark the north and west extensions built after 1949. People continue to bury their dead there, walking past the forgotten corner without knowing how many hungry bodies sleep beneath it.

In Ballypheane. Shown on 1842 OS 6-inch map as square area (c. 150sq); now extended to N and W to form irregular area enclosed by stone walls to S and E and concrete walls to N and W. Inside entrance gates, square area (c. 55m sq) defined by stone walls (H c. 2m) which, according to caretaker is earlier section of yard. Earliest gravestone dated 1780. Famine and pauper burial area in SW corner; not marked. Graveyard still in use. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.