Church, Clooney (Maas Ed), Co. Donegal
At the southwest end of Tramore Strand in County Donegal, modern buildings now stand where a graveyard once served the local community.
Church, Clooney (Maas Ed), Co. Donegal
No trace remains of this burial ground, which appeared on the Ordnance Survey 6-inch maps but has since vanished beneath development. The cemetery was connected to a church built around 1724, though that too has completely disappeared, leaving no physical evidence of either sacred site along this stretch of the shore.
The area’s transformation from religious ground to residential development reflects a common fate for many of Ireland’s smaller, rural burial sites. Without protective measures or continued use, these graveyards often fell into disrepair and were eventually lost to time and progress. The proximity to Tramore Strand would have made this a peaceful spot for both worship and eternal rest, with the sound of waves providing a constant backdrop to religious services and burials alike.
This lost graveyard was documented in the Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, compiled by Brian Lacey and his team in 1983. Their work, which catalogued field antiquities from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century, serves as one of the few remaining records of sites like this; places that once held deep meaning for local communities but now exist only in historical surveys and old maps. The complete absence of any physical remains makes it impossible to know how many souls were laid to rest here, their stories now as invisible as the ground that once held them.





