In April 1988, Roy Spence of Belfast reported the discovery of human remains on Killygarvan Island to the National Museum, followed by a second grave just months later. The island itself is modest; just 50 metres across and barely two metres at its highest point, but what excavations revealed beneath its surface offers a fascinating glimpse into early medieval burial practices in Ireland.

The National Museum’s R. O’Floinn excavated both graves, uncovering remarkably preserved lintel graves carved into the island’s southern flank. The first grave contained the skeleton of an adult woman, laid to rest on a carefully constructed floor of stone slabs. She had been placed on her back, head pointing southwest, in a stone chamber measuring 1.73 metres long. The grave’s construction was intricate, with five principal stone slabs on each side, all tilting outward, and tall pillar stones filling the corners. Though centuries had taken their toll, with collapsed covering stones destroying much of the torso bones, enough remained to tell her story. The second grave, though empty of human remains, told its own tale; the presence of a headstone and pillow stone, along with its smaller dimensions, suggested it had held a child, with a remarkable 70cm tall stone pillar that once stood as a grave marker.

These lintel graves likely represent part of an early Christian cemetery, predating the later burial ground at Killygarvan Church on the mainland. Their isolated position on this tidal island, gradually being reclaimed by the sea through coastal erosion, adds a poignant element to their discovery. While no church structures or burial traditions survive on the island itself, these graves stand as testament to the care and craftsmanship with which early Irish communities honoured their dead, creating elaborate stone chambers that would protect their loved ones for over a millennium.