Cillíní (Children’s Burial Grounds)

Cillíní (Children’s Burial Grounds) were used from the 17th century through to recent decades for the burial of babies who died without having received the sacrament of baptism. My first archaeological excavation, as part of my undergraduate studies in UCC, was of a cillín at Caherlehillian, Co. Kerry, in 1994. More than 20 years later I began to research these lonely places, when asked to contribute an essay on the subject to accompany a photographic exhibition by Tommy Weir. The aspect I am most drawn to is the folklore associated with cillíní and what this reveals about parental grief and trauma.

Dowd, M. 2025. ‘Every night, the crying of babies’: the folklore associated with cillíní (children’s burial grounds). Journal of Irish Archaeology 34, 163–177.

Anderson, A.E. and Dowd, M. 2022. A study of cillíní (children’s burial grounds) in County Donegal. The Journal of Irish Archaeology 31, 119–133. Read here

Dowd, M. 2019. On cillíní. In: T. Weir Cillín, 41–44. Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin. Read here

Dowd, M., McHugh, T., Ó hAisibéil, L. and Moore, S. 2021. Following the footprints: a cillín at Ardnaglass Lower, Co. Sligo. Archaeology Ireland 35(1), 14–17. Read here

‘Baby Hare’ (Read here) has appeared in three publications:

Dowd, M. 2021. Baby hare. In: L. Kennedy, E. McNamee and U. Mannion (eds.) The Cormorant 1, 23. Tread Softy Publishing, Sligo.

Dowd, M. 2021. Baby hare. In: S. Golden (ed.) Maugherow: beneath the blowing sands, 85. Tread Softy Publishing, Sligo.

Dowd, M. 2019. Baby hare. The Cormorant: a Broadsheet of Fiction and Poetry 2, 1. Read here