Graveyard, Clooney (Maas Ed), Co. Donegal
At the southwest end of Tramore Strand in County Donegal, there once stood a graveyard that has completely vanished from both the landscape and memory.
Graveyard, Clooney (Maas Ed), Co. Donegal
No trace of it appears on the Ordnance Survey 6-inch maps, and the area where mourners once laid their loved ones to rest is now covered with modern buildings. The cemetery was connected to a church built around 1724, though that too has disappeared without leaving any physical evidence behind.
The graveyard’s existence is known only through historical records and archaeological surveys, particularly the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal compiled in 1983. This survey, assembled by Brian Lacey and his team of researchers, documented the county’s field antiquities from the Mesolithic Period through to the 17th century, preserving knowledge of sites like this one that might otherwise be completely forgotten.
Today, visitors to this stretch of the Donegal coast near Tramore Strand would find no indication that this was once sacred ground. The transformation from burial ground to built environment represents a common story across Ireland, where urban development has often claimed historical sites, leaving only archival records to tell their stories. The site, catalogued as DG064-008 in archaeological records, serves as a reminder of how quickly physical traces of the past can disappear, particularly in coastal areas subject to development pressure.





