St. Columbkilles Burial Ground

On a machair plain on the SE side of Inishkea North, 8m N of the rocky shore. A small stony inlet, named ‘Portnakilly’ is immediately to SE, and appears to have derived its name from graveyard. This graveyard, named ‘St Columbkille’s Burial Ground’ on the 1838 and 1921 OS 6-inch maps, is a National Monument in state ownership (no. 378). Rectangular area (21m N−S; 26.5m E−W) enclosed by a rubble drystone wall (Wth 0.6-0.65m; H 1-1.2m). On the S side where ground falls naturally towards the shoreline, the wall. The S wall consists of a stone-faced scarp, its top almost flush with interior ground level. A right-angled indentation of the graveyard wall at the NW corner of the graveyard appears to mark the location of a church (MA023-014001-), shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map, of which there is now no trace. The 1838 OS 6-inch map also depicts a rectangular enclosed space (c. 15m N−S; c. 16m E−W) appended to the N side of the graveyard. This is no longer evident. The W half of the graveyard contains the greatest concentration of graves and gravemarkers. It encompasses gently elevated uneven ground, with several minor changes in level, particularly in the S half where there is a natural fall in ground. Amidst a surface scatter of loose stone and poorly defined heaps of stone, there are several square and rectangular grave plots outlined by low stone settings or piles of large and medium-sized stones and slabs. Quartz cobbles and pebbles overspread the surface of several graves. Simple, uninscribed upright rectangular or subrectangular slabs serve as headstones on the majority of grave plots, but four graves have crudely cross-shaped slabs as headstones. A low E-facing scarp, with remnants of a wall/stone facing (H 0.3-0.4m), separates the higher W part of the graveyard from the lower E part. In the E part, the grass-covered ground is relatively flat and even, and there are scant visible remains of graves, merely a sparse scatter of low upright stones and a few fragmentary remains of low, linear or rectilinear stone settings protruding from the grass. The inhabitants of both Inishkea North and Inishkea South used this burial ground throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Attached images: MA023-014002-_01.JPG Viewed from W MA023-014002-_02.JPG W half of graveyard, viewed from N MA023-014002-_03.JPG Grave with stone cross MA023-014002-_04.JPG Grave with quartz pebbles Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 19 July 2023

A small medieval Christian burial ground, likely associated with a monastic or early ecclesiastical site, and significant for its possible connection to St. Columba (Columbkille), reflecting the early Christian spread in the region.