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Cillini, burial grounds for the unbaptised

1/31/2012

41 Comments

 
I often think of my great great grandmother Catherine Hurley nee Gallivan (1842-1918) and her babies. I cannot find baptism records for all her babies. However, I do know that babies who died before baptism were buried in unconsecrated ground, often outside graveyard walls or among the ruins of old deconsecrated churches. They, along with some mothers who died in childbirth, unknown souls, criminals and people who died by suicide, could not be buried according to the rites of the Catholic Church.  
Babies were buried at night, often by the father or grandfather of the baby. Mothers were not allowed to hold their babies or to be present at the burial. Often mothers lived and died not even knowing where their babies were buried.
A new organisation called HUG  
Hidden in Unconsecrated Ground
has been set up in Ireland to keep a record of these unofficial burial grounds. Toni Maguire from Queens University, Belfast has documented 100 Cillini in County Armagh alone. This practice of the burial of unbaptised babies in Cillini continued in Ireland until the 1970's. 
This is the story of My invisible brother Michael  
If you are aware of any unofficial burial grounds/Cillini, in Ireland please comment below and I will pass on the information to Toni. 


41 Comments
ger nkro link
2/21/2012 04:46:27 pm

MY sister in law lives in the same area that your gggm came from ie tonevane and curraheen outside Blennerville near Tralee. Have you ever been, lovely windmill there. I assume you have seen the 5 baptismal certs on irishgenealogy.ie
regards
ger

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Toni Maguire
10/9/2016 09:23:29 pm

Can I just correct something, I have identified over 100 Cillini in County Antrim and am now working on the institutional burial grounds in Mother and Baby Homes which fall into the same criteria. I'm glad to see that my research is being spread around

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Martine Brennan link
10/22/2016 11:14:03 am

Dear Toni, thank you for the correction. The blog was written in 2012 so as soon as I can find it in the backlist I will update it. If you have an up to date link to your research online I would be delighted to include that also. Sincerely, Martine

Martine Brennan link
2/22/2012 01:03:36 am

Many thanks Ger. Yes I have seen the five certificates but she describes herself as having had more babies who died in the 1911 Census. I haven't got my notes to hand right now to give you the exact number. Either the baptismal certificates are lost or her other babies died before baptism. Sadly, there is a family history of babies born still in our family.
You have a family connection in Tonavane/Curraheen? It would be fascinating if we were connected through marriage.

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Gabriele Helbig
11/24/2012 07:48:40 am

I joined a group of local historians in Attymass, Co. Mayo this summer. During a guided walk we visited an ancient grave. Within this stone circle and around it burials of unbaptised babies have been conducted until the 1960s. Also bodies of criminals have been disposed there, someone mentioned bound hands. Very disturbing!
Let me know if you want to know details.

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Martine Brennan link
11/25/2012 03:45:04 am

Dear Gabriele, many thanks for letting us know about this burial ground. You can leave details here or email me at [email protected] and I will pass the information onto Toni Maguire. I think it is so important that we honour the babies whose mothers were forbidden.

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Yvette Hoogstad link
8/12/2013 12:24:19 am

Thanks for sharing. This is so very sad! Glad to hear this issue is being addressed.

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Martine Brennan link
8/19/2013 02:54:34 am

We all hope that these childrens' burial grounds scattered over the length and breadth of Ireland will be officially recognised and protected.

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Sarah Duffy
5/10/2014 01:30:10 am

Thankyou for this.with love to all the babies and their mothers who went before.
I am adopted and so this really strikes home with me.
I believe there is a Cillini in derrinabreuch, Cloontia, postal county county Sligo but actually in Mayo.it is beyond my birth grandmothers farm.

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Ruth Cleary
6/9/2014 04:46:39 pm

My husbands family comes from Creevy, Ballyshannon Co.Donegal. There is a childrens burial ground marked on the 1900 iOS map adjoining the ruined church of Kilbarron on the Rossnowlagh Road. It can still be seen as an overgrown corner of the field. There is also a Cillini narked on the 1900map just outside the village of Ballintra, Co Donegal but I don't know if this is still visible.
It would be so good to mark these graveyards. Locals still talk of Limbo so maybe also a mass so those buried there can be recognised.

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Toni Kelly link
6/27/2015 06:23:21 am

I am the new editor of Guaire magazine in Gort. We received a submission about the children's graveyard in Gort, Co. Galway from a woman who had a brother buried there. Do you have any information on such a burial ground just outside Gort? We are considering developing her first person account into an article for our 2016 edition and would appreciate any information available.

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Martine Brennan link
10/3/2015 08:13:16 am

Dear Toni, sorry for the delay in replying. I do not have any more information about Gort but Toni Maguire of Queens University, Belfast may be able to help you.
Good luck with the article.
Martine

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Ed Ryan
7/25/2015 01:58:29 am

Hi, My little sister Eileen was born full term on Christmas Day 1948 and died shortly after birth. I have no recall but she was buried in what we call Tobar Naoinin, in our home village of Houndswood, Cross, Co Mayo. For years we lived in hope that something would be done and on the 22nd July 2015 thanks to the generosity, committment and sheer determination of Jimmy and Judy Harte, the land owners, ably assisted by the Langan family the Tobar was consecrated by Rev Fr Paddy Gilligan with in excess of 120 people present coming from as far as Sydney and New York. My ardent hope is that we can now go one step more and commemorate the memory of our loved ones for future generations. I have in mind a memento booklet - Tobar Naoinin - The forgotten where we can recall as many names as possible and have a family member relate the story.
I would appreciate any help in getting this off gthe ground,
Regards,
Ed Ryan, Dublin

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Martine Brennan link
10/3/2015 08:28:20 am

Dear Ed, I have been away from my desk for sometime, my apologies. I remember your sister Eileen with you today and I am glad that you have been able to find where she is buried. I think your idea of a booklet is a lovely way to honour her. It might be worthwhile approaching Mayo County Council. Many county councils have been willing to help with commemorative plaques for example. Some Heritage Officers are open to suggestions. Is there a Mayo Historical Society where you might find other like minded people? One of our Kerry Cilins was 'adopted' by an ICA group. I hope you find some of these suggestions useful. You can also ask the Council to record the burial site if they have not already done so. Local newspapers can be very supportive also and can help put you in touch with others whose family members are buried in Tobar Naonin. My email is [email protected] if you would like to contact me directly/
Warm wishes
Martine

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noel lynch link
10/26/2015 07:11:10 pm

My uncle has told me of an older sibling who died in childbirth. He was asked to take the baby to the garden and bury him?her.1950s I think.No one in my large family knows of this except us two. I am visiting my cousin at the moment in a place called killinane, liscarroll.

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Martine Brennan link
11/6/2015 07:16:53 pm

Dear Noel, it must have been so hard for your uncle to do this. I have been told of the babies being buried under a fairy bush and also under the flagstone at the front door of the house. Have you considered how you might record the baby's life and death for future generations? Warm wishes, Martine

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Jen
4/19/2016 11:55:57 pm

The City Cemetery in Derry, Northern Ireland had a section cordoned off for the burial of unbaptised babies.

My father told me about it, him and my mum had a stillborn son whom the undertakers wanted to bury in this area but my father wouldn't let them. They took the coffin to the grave of my great grandparents and paid the grave diggers to dig it and put the coffin with them. There was no mass or additions to the headstone but at least he is with family.

I am not sure where the section of the cemetery is that those poor babies are in as this would have been sometime in the 1970s that my older brother was buried.

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Martine Brennan link
5/25/2016 07:51:04 am

Dear Jen, thinking of your little brother and how brave your parents were to stand up to the authorities. In Rath cemetary in Tralee over the last few years families have begun to add babies names and dates to family gravestones. I know that this is bringing great consolation to the families.Warm wishes, Martine

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Marian Chamberlain
8/1/2017 09:35:03 am

Jen, your comments are tear jerking however what strongly came across was what a warm, caring, brave man your father was to have gone against the system to bury his child with respect. My parents lost many... 13, majority not being baptised were buried in a ditch to the side of the church graveyard. My father was a lonely man digging a little grave in a ditch to bury his child ..these things were not shared, sadly, only in recent times has this come to light. May all our sibliblings and loved ones Rest In Peace.

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nona sanders
10/26/2016 05:25:20 pm

Could anybody please inform me of the legalities of burials in kyles now, it is my belief that the vatican in the 1950s closed all kyles, and therefore no further burials should take place, and if it is under the recorded and protected monuments act is it then not legal, thanks

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Ger greaney
3/14/2018 06:48:06 pm

Its not that the church closed cillini as they had no power over them or interest in them. In 1962 in Vatican 2 the church embraced limbo for the first time as a place where unbaptised babies souls could go while awaiting entry to heaven. This acknowledgement meant that these babies were no longer doomed sinners and they were allowed burial in nameless plots within local graveyards called angel plots. This meant that there was no further need for cillini. Hope that answers the query.

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Ruth Cleary link
3/15/2018 09:56:28 am

You’re right Ger the Cillini weren’t closed - just fell into disuse.
However I could find no mention of Limbo in Vatican II - maybe you could show me the reference.
However the International Theological Commision of 1992 made no mention of Limbo in the Cacechism of the Catholic Church. It was quietly dropped.
And the international Theological Commision of 2007 discounted the theory of Limbo (Theory in the religious not scientific sense).
It is after 2007 that marked graves of stillborn babies appear in our local graveyard. I don’t think there is an angel plot in this graveyard but I will check this. There is certainly one in the Catholic Church in Belleek (Northern Ireland) which was certainly in use in the 1960’s. It is now marked.

Marian Chamberlain
8/1/2017 09:14:52 am

Just come across your site. I am from The North of Ireland / Co. Down. I and my 3 living siblings have recently buried our 84 year old mother. Behind her grave...in a ditch ....was a plaque she had in recent years had erected in memory of my parents still born children....of which there were many....a total of 13 either died at birth / stillborn or miscarried. The support she got in those days was very lacking. As a family we never talked of these terrible times . Over recent years it was obviously playing on her mind especially after my fathers death, she shared some parts with each of us and together we have been able to piece some semblance of life for her and my Father through these difficult years. I have lived far from home for many years and was not involved in any memory plaque for my siblings, this is much regretted by me. When I saw this reminder in a "ditch" I only really became aware of the torment my parents had gone through and now I too was feeling some of that. I have no answers nor expect any , that is how it was done I only ask that we all learn and never allow these experiences to happen to anyone without giving full support and comfort. I grieve more for the life after death that my siblings were denied than I do for my parents who lived. Along and natural life ...albeit riddled with sadness. M



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Martine Brennan link
8/4/2017 12:04:11 pm

Dear Marian, my sympathy to you and your family on your great loss. I know for many of us the deaths of our siblings affected us even though we did not know about them for many years. The silence and the pain took our parents away from us in ways...and we live with that legacy. I am glad your mother felt able to talk to you all even if she couldn't tell the whole story. I too feel that finding out about my brother Michael and my two unnamed siblings has helped me to understand more and this has made a difference for me. But there will always be a sadness though tempered now by this understanding. With warm wishes, Martine

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Joe Duffy
3/6/2018 08:22:22 pm

I'm making a short film about Cillini and have been visiting sites in Mayo/Roscommon (including the site Sarah Duffy my cousin mentions in Cloontia East Mayo which is now consecrated and has a plaque to commemorate).
This is a very sensitive subject but one that deserves the attention of recognition so that the Cillini sites can be restored and restored. I'm particularly interested in documenting the stories of family members with relatives buried in Cillins. This doesn't need to be visually but could be orally via interview in person or over the phone. The final film will hopefully bring attention to the Cillini sites and build to a larger project that will visually represent and bring these important locations back from being hidden or stigmatised.

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Martine Brennan link
3/7/2018 10:44:25 am

I've sent you an email and look forward to speaking to you Joe. Many thanks Martine

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Veronica Cullinane
12/29/2024 03:22:48 pm

There is a children's graveyard in Fairymount Co.Roscommon. My mother's brother was buried there in 1938/39 after dying after homebirth. I understand the death was reported to the local gardai and baby was buried by a family relative at night time.
I know this page might be closed but just thought I'd make a comment as interested in giving my Uncle and his burial place recognition. Their family name is Duffy.
Regards
Veronica.

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Martine Brennan link
1/1/2025 06:04:19 pm

Thinking of you and your uncle Duffy, Veronica. After my baby girl died I created a family tree so that she would always be remembered in my family. I also named my little brother Michael. I find it so comforting. I am wondering if your uncle's birth or death may be recorded in the Civil Registration Records since the gardai were involved?

Frank O'Mahoney
3/20/2018 09:43:49 pm

This is the World year of the family being celebrated in Dublin in August wouldn't it be a real christen festival if the Pope was to consecrate all the child burial grounds scattered around Ireland. I live in Boyle in Co. Roscommon & I have marked the site with a
steel sculptor piece just to show respect to those resting there.

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Martine Brennan link
3/21/2018 09:17:20 pm

Dear Frank this is a lovely thing you have done. I am very moved.... Martine

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Anne Ran
5/16/2018 08:47:56 am

Do any of you know if there are burial records kept of adults who committed suicide in the 19th century. I understand they would have been ould b in unconsecrated ground as well.

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Martine Brennan link
5/16/2018 09:10:40 am

Dear Ann, I don't know of any such records. After 1864, you may find a Civil Registration record of a death (by suicide) at irishgenealogy.ie which is free. There may also be a newspaper report under 'death by misadventure' or some such term, or possibly a Coroner's report written up in the newspaper. We usually find out about the burial of adults outside of consecrated grounds via oral history.

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Anne Ran
5/16/2018 10:43:12 am

Thank you, Martine, for your prompt reply and guidance. I appreciate your help.

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Tiffany Glynn
4/29/2019 10:04:56 pm

Hi there, I wanted to pass along the information that I have heard that my great grandfather, Thomas Glynn, used to bury children that the church would not in his land in Knockbrack, Athenry, Co. Galway. Please contact me if you need more information.

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Martine Brennan link
6/11/2019 01:21:53 pm

Many thanks Tiffany.

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Michael nasterson
11/22/2020 04:59:46 am

Thank you Martine for your work.... We are in process of erecting commerative Plaque at moment at Moyne Co Longford... Thanks for suggestion of contacting County Council....

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Martine Brennan link
12/7/2020 02:49:58 pm

Dear Michael, thank you for all the work you have put into erecting a commemorative plaque in Moyne. It means so much to families to have our babies remembered. My father's family are from Claunch, Co. Longford so I was especially moved to receive your message. Take care now, Martine

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Gianna Taylor link
1/11/2021 11:59:24 am

Awesome blog you have here

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Martine Brennan link
1/12/2021 01:10:15 pm

Thank you Gianna.

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Daniel Patrick Costello
6/30/2021 02:35:21 pm

There is a cillin in the boggy field beyond the Aer Aran airport outside of Inverin, Co. Galway. I'm curious what the Catholic Church's stance is today for not consecrating these burial grounds?

Reply
Martine link
10/7/2021 11:37:54 am

Hi Daniel Patrick, I am sorry but I don't know the answer to your question. My guess is that the Diocese of Galway might be able to answer you.
Sincerely, Martine

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