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Old Graveyard, Killacur, Killyhurragh is a children's burial ground and killeen situated in the Moyle district of Northern Ireland. The site is marked by a stone carved with a cross, indicating its sacred function as a place of interment for unbaptised infants and young children, a practice common in medieval and post-medieval Ireland. Such killeens occupied liminal spaces within the Christian landscape, often located away from consecrated parish churchyards, and were frequently associated with ancient sites of spiritual significance.
The graveyard lies on Triassic bedrock comprising interbedded sandstone and conglomerate, geology typical of this region of County Antrim. This foundation has shaped the site's character and accessibility over centuries. The presence of a carved cross-stone suggests continuity of use and Christian practice across an extended period, though the exact chronology of burial activity remains uncertain.
The monument is recorded in the Historic Environment Division's inventory under reference 1503 and is afforded statutory protection. Its survival as a recognisable graveyard, despite the passage of time and changes in burial practice, testifies to the enduring significance of children's burial grounds within Irish cultural and spiritual memory.
Old graveyard, killacur, killyhurragh. children burial ground/killeen with cross-carved stone is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 1503. View the official record →
Old Graveyard, Killacur, Killyhurragh is a children's burial ground and killeen situated in the Moyle district of Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 1503.
Old graveyard, killacur, killyhurragh. children burial ground/killeen with cross-carved stone dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a graveyard. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Old graveyard, killacur, killyhurragh. children burial ground/killeen with cross-carved stone is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 1503.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Red bay castle. motte, two baileys and tower-house, curtain wall & possible site of promontory fort (1.9 km), Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort (2.1 km), Ardglany's, ardclinis. medieval parish church & graveyard, cross-carved stone & crozier (2.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Old graveyard, killacur, killyhurragh. children burial ground/killeen with cross-carved stone's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Old graveyard, killacur, killyhurragh. children burial ground/killeen with cross-carved stone stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.