This rectangular stone platform, measuring roughly 22 metres north to south and 27 metres east to west, sits quietly amongst the wet grassland, its boundary walls now collapsed and the entire site heavily overgrown with vegetation.

These isolated burial grounds, known in Irish as cillíní, served a heartbreaking purpose in Ireland’s history. They were typically used for unbaptised infants, stillborn children, and others who, according to the strict religious customs of the time, could not be buried in consecrated ground. The practice continued well into the 20th century in some parts of Ireland, leaving behind these small, often forgotten plots scattered across the countryside.

The site at An Gharbháin was first formally documented in the Archaeological Survey of County Donegal in 1983, though its appearance on earlier Ordnance Survey maps suggests it was already well known to local communities. Today, whilst the stonework may be tumbling and nature has largely reclaimed the space, the site remains an important archaeological feature; a tangible link to the social and religious customs that shaped rural Irish life for centuries.