At Clonmethan graveyard in the townland of Glebe, parish of Clonmethan, the interior of the enclosure has risen so far through centuries of burials that it now sits at or above the level of the surrounding stone wall, which itself reaches 2.6 metres in height. Only on the northern side, where there is no perimeter wall and only an earthen bank, does the ground drop slightly, to around 1.7 metres. It is the kind of quietly unsettling detail that rewards a second look: the dead, accumulated over generations, have literally raised the earth.

The site occupies elevated ground in the barony of Balrothery West, north County Dublin, and carries the Irish name Gleann Meáin. The enclosure is roughly sub-rectangular, measuring approximately 47 metres north to south and 56 metres east to west, bounded by a stone wall built after 1700 and the earthen bank to the north. St Mary's Church of Ireland, built in 1818, stands in the southern quadrant, though it sits on the footprint of a much older medieval church, the church of Clonmethan, whose origins predate anything now visible above ground. A smaller pedestrian gate in the centre of the east wall connects directly to Glebe House, which lies 120 metres to the northeast, a reminder of the close spatial relationship between the Church of Ireland clergy and their parish grounds. The oldest legible grave marker on the site dates to 1754, according to research by Egan in 1992, though the burial ground itself is considerably older in origin.

The graveyard remains in active use, so visitors should be aware they are entering a working parish burial ground rather than a purely archaeological site. Access is through the entrance gate at the southwest angle. One practical note worth bearing in mind: an access path on the southern side has cut down through burial deposits to a depth of 1.7 metres, making the layered history of the place unexpectedly visible underfoot. The views from the high ground extend broadly across the surrounding countryside, giving some sense of why this elevated position was chosen in the first place.