Kildimo Graveyard

Introduction

Kildimo Graveyard is located in Co. Clare - in the townland of Kildimo South, in the parish of Miltown Malbay, close to the border of the townland of Annagh which is in the parish of Kilmurry Ibrickane. The official name of the townlands is Kildeema North & South
The Kildimo graveyard was originally located in Kildimo North. A local source describes its original location as “in Mickey Hurley`s Place.” He says “they” tried once to plough the site with a view to levelling it, But when bones started coming up with the plough, ‘they’ abandoned the job”.
Mickey Hurley`s place – in Kildimo North - subsequently became Tessie Downes’, and now belongs to Ter Hehir. The actual site is west of Tessie Downes' house and east of the new house (Anne Clune`s)
The School`s Folklore has the following anonymous contribution from Annagh School :

There is a pillar-stone in the middle of Cill Dioma half a mile to the east of Annagh School. It is about 6 feet high and about 8 inches square. It is pointed at the top like the head of a fish. No one remembers who put it there, but it is thought that it was put over the grave of the first person buried there (before the time of tombstones) when the burial ground was removed from Kildeem(a) East

It is also possible that the site for the re-located graveyard was selected because the Pillar (see photo-album) was already there, maybe as a parish/townland marker or as a marker of the 'tearmon' of the eponymous saint - Deema/Diman.
There is a small section of the graveyard sectioned off from the main by a wall and railing. According to Junior Crehan this was separated because the people buried there were Protestants, who came to work on the local model farm. Even after clearing away the briars I was unable to locate any inscriptions within the enclosure.
The graveyard was expanded (approximately doubled in size) in 1912 when the Leconfield estate was subdivided amongst local landowners.
There are many stones which have decorative carvings, Photos of the following are in the album (the numbers refer to the full listing of epitaphs) 1. The Doherty vault, with masons tools 19. The Hurley flagstone. 37. The Molony flagstone, with blacksmiths tools. Moloney was one of the so-called ‘Three Brave Blacksmiths’.
Local Folklore, has it that there was once a very old graveyard on the hill behind Quartermire. This hill was previously known as Knocknagearagh, but that name is unknown now. The entrance to the old graveyard was at the gable of Eddie Welsh’s new house and went for about 100 yards into the next field west where the graveyard was situated. There are no traces of it to be seen now.
The listing on this site was made by Donal De Barra in 2003 and includes all the stones that were visible but there may be other stones that are completely covered over. In total there are about 260 epitaphs recorded here of which Cantwell had recorded about 28.
The graveyard is still in use.
Prepared for the internet by Donal De Barra,
2006.