This graveyard is located in the townland of Newberry and close to Mallow Sugar Factory. The area was once the property of the O Callaghan's but was confiscated by Cromwell and ended up with the Newman's who changed the name of the area to Newberry in commemoration of family members who were killed at the battle of Newberry in the English civil war.
Kilshannig got its name from Saint Seannach who set up a small monastery cell in the locality in the 6th century. There is another Kilshannig near Rathcormack in East Cork and a Kilshanny in Kerry which indicates that Saint Seannach moved about. The local Catholic parish was named Kilshannig Parish until the Reformation when it became a Church of Ireland parish and therefore a Civil Parish. When the penal laws were relaxed in the late 1700's and early 1800's Catholic communities began to openly practice their religion and a new Catholic Church was built in this parish at Glantanein 1821 and the Catholic parish was then named Glantane Parish. The Church of Ireland and Catholic parishes are identical and are in the Barony of Duhallow.The earliest headstone in Kilshannig dates to 1717 but one of the Lombards of Lombardstown requested in his will of 1685 that he should be buried in Kilshannig Cemetry, however, the Lombard tomb does not carry any reference to this man.
The road to the graveyard was also the entrance avenue to Dromineen Castle and was known as Bothar na Sprid or “the road of the Spirits” indicating it was a haunted road.
The Newman's got sanction to build a prison and to hold Petty Sessions to try minor crimes. In the early 1700’s they raised taxes to pay for the construction of a whipping post which was placed at the right pillar of the entrance gate to Kilshannig graveyard and this was the last one to close down in all of North Cork.
