Measuring 1.75 metres in height and roughly 7 by 6 metres at its base, this grass-covered hillock is known to residents as a children’s burial ground, or cillín in Irish. These unconsecrated burial sites were once common throughout Ireland, serving as the final resting place for unbaptised infants, stillborn babies, and young children who died before receiving the sacrament of baptism.

The mound’s location beside the stream is typical of such burial grounds, which were often situated on boundaries or liminal spaces; places that existed between the consecrated ground of the churchyard and the wider landscape. During Ireland’s strongly Catholic past, church doctrine prevented these children from being buried in consecrated ground, leading communities to establish separate burial areas that maintained a measure of dignity and remembrance for the families affected. The practice continued well into the 20th century in some parts of Ireland.

Today, this small mound serves as a reminder of Ireland’s complex social and religious history, where strict ecclesiastical rules created profound grief for families already dealing with the loss of a child. Archaeological surveys like the one conducted by Brian Lacey and his team in 1983 have helped document these sites across Donegal, ensuring that these quiet monuments to past sorrows are recorded and remembered, even as the fields around them continue to be cultivated and the stream continues its ancient course.