Annual Mass to be celebrated at infant burial site in Killeshin

AN UNKNOWN number of infants was recently found buried near the grounds of the Romanesque doorway in Killeshin.

A special Mass was held by the Graiguecullen/Killeshin parish on Sunday 3 November in honour of these babies and their families.

Local parish priest Fr John Dunphy, in the presence of a large congregation and accompanied by Killeshin Choir, unveiled a memorial stone at the burial site and consecrated the ground beyond the graveyard wall. He then announced that an annual Mass would be held at the site to pray for the infants buried there and to acknowledge the hurt experienced by their families.

It is unclear how long the site was used as a burial ground as the parish only became aware of its existence two years ago, after a local family came forward and said they had children buried there. The parish took the claim seriously and, after hearing from several other families, arranged to consecrate the site and hold a special Mass.

Burial sites like this are not an uncommon find in Ireland. The practice of burying unbaptised children near church grounds happened across Europe from the mid-16th century until the 1960s. Burial sites like the one found in Killeshin are known as cilíní.

The inscribed memorial stone placed by the cilín was donated by local businessman T Brennan of Clonmore Meats, and was placed by local builder Michael Brennan of MB Homes during the Mass. Killeshin Choir sang at the event, led by Cathríona Kelly, and a poem was specially written for the occasion and read by Martin Power.