19. Skehanagh Children's Burial Ground.

Skehanagh Children’s Burial Ground.

Sites, such as this one, while mostly reserved for the burial of children who died before they were baptised, were often times used for the burial of children who were classed as ‘illegitimate’ by being born out of wedlock, strangers or those whose religion was not known – in short, anyone who was ‘not saved’ or whose baptismal status was ambiguous or unknown. Some ‘cillíní’ were also used for mass burials during the time of The Great Hunger of the 19th century.

It is difficult to fully appreciate the depth of grief and despair that bereaved families underwent at such a time, worsened by the knowledge that they were to be denied the comfort of a funeral mass and dignified burial in consecrated ground. The long and sad journey to this ‘cillín’ was probably conducted by a male member of the family and under cover of darkness, though perhaps with the guidance of a lantern light. Other family members were often discouraged from recognising the birth of these children or to accompany their remains on its final journey.

This burial site is irregular in shape being 19 metres at widest point north/south and 23 metres east/west. The stone uprights are in a clearly defined series aligned north/south. A fairly uniform width of 1.1 metres separates the alignment of uprights from each other and many of the memorials remain visible as small box-like arrangements of stones. Hawthorn trees are scattered in the burial ground and its immediate vicinity.

“Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anamnacha uile”.

Skehana & District Heritage group is delighted to initiate this site’s formal recognition and consecration and to provide improved access, signage, memorial plaque and boundary wall. We are most grateful to the members of our community who have supported us financially and to the many volunteers who gave freely of their time and talents to make these enhancements possible. We acknowledge the generous support and encouragement of Galway County Council and The Heritage Council but especially wish to recognize the support and co-operation we have received from the Costello family as occupiers of this site, and their predecessors who have preserved this sacred area and ensured it has remained untouched over many decades. This site was formally consecrated by Fr. Yesudas Kodiveettil in a concelebrated ceremony with Fr. Michael Screene, MSC, and Fr. Jimmy Mitchell on July 11th, 2018.