After the horrific discovery of the mass grave of 800 infants at the Bon Secours site in Tuam there has been a lot of discussion about how, where and why untold numbers of infant corpses (and others who were not wanted) were so horrifically disposed of.
There are many "Children's Burial Grounds" or Cillíní in Ireland, dotted throughout the country. They are unconsecrated sites (distinct from normal graveyards) where unbaptized infants were interred. Their age varies. Some are in waste land, many others (most of the "discovered" ones) are on the sites of ancient constructions like raths, cairns and ringforts. Most are unmarked. Some are yet to be uncovered, others have been bulldozed away.
I have often wondered if the myths of "faeries" and curses surrounding ancient sites were told by adults to children, not wanting to tell them the truth, in order to scare them away from the graves of the infants and other outcasts who were buried there.
You can find the location of many of these sites by using the National Monuments Service interactive map.
If you go onto this map and select "Chidren's Burial Ground" in the search window you will find the location of many, but not all, of these grave-sites. You must search by county as there are too many (thousands) results to show if you search the entire country.
This map, of course, leaves out the grave sites which are not marked on maps. Locals, in rural areas especially, may be able to point out unmarked "Cillín".
Undoubtedly not all of the grave sites are as particularly horrific as the one in Tuam where infants seem to have died of preventable ailments such malnutrition (in other words sheer bloody murder). No doubt many infants buried in these graves died of entirely natural causes. Others will predate the mass grave in Tuam. Some will have had only a small number of infants buried there.
Nonetheless, the existence of these hidden grave-sites is very disturbing and further investigation is needed, particularly of ones near former workhouses and "Mother and Baby homes". The site in Tuam is unlikely to be unique.
Below I have embedded an article entitled "Outside of life: Traditions of Infant Burial in Ireland from Cillín to Cist" by Nyree Finlay. It was published in the World Archaeology journal in 2000. It is a very informing read and explores in considerable detail the practice of infant burial in Ireland, shining a light on a particularly disturbing aspect of Ireland's history.
There are many "Children's Burial Grounds" or Cillíní in Ireland, dotted throughout the country. They are unconsecrated sites (distinct from normal graveyards) where unbaptized infants were interred. Their age varies. Some are in waste land, many others (most of the "discovered" ones) are on the sites of ancient constructions like raths, cairns and ringforts. Most are unmarked. Some are yet to be uncovered, others have been bulldozed away.
I have often wondered if the myths of "faeries" and curses surrounding ancient sites were told by adults to children, not wanting to tell them the truth, in order to scare them away from the graves of the infants and other outcasts who were buried there.
You can find the location of many of these sites by using the National Monuments Service interactive map.
If you go onto this map and select "Chidren's Burial Ground" in the search window you will find the location of many, but not all, of these grave-sites. You must search by county as there are too many (thousands) results to show if you search the entire country.
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| Sites marked as "Children's Burial Ground" in County Galway. There is a massive correlation between these grave-sites and ancient historical antiquities. In many cases the excavation of the latter led to the discovery of the former. |
This map, of course, leaves out the grave sites which are not marked on maps. Locals, in rural areas especially, may be able to point out unmarked "Cillín".
Undoubtedly not all of the grave sites are as particularly horrific as the one in Tuam where infants seem to have died of preventable ailments such malnutrition (in other words sheer bloody murder). No doubt many infants buried in these graves died of entirely natural causes. Others will predate the mass grave in Tuam. Some will have had only a small number of infants buried there.
Nonetheless, the existence of these hidden grave-sites is very disturbing and further investigation is needed, particularly of ones near former workhouses and "Mother and Baby homes". The site in Tuam is unlikely to be unique.
Below I have embedded an article entitled "Outside of life: Traditions of Infant Burial in Ireland from Cillín to Cist" by Nyree Finlay. It was published in the World Archaeology journal in 2000. It is a very informing read and explores in considerable detail the practice of infant burial in Ireland, shining a light on a particularly disturbing aspect of Ireland's history.
