St. Mary’s Abbey was home to “Our Lady of Trim”, a wooden statue reported to work miracles. The statue made Trim a major pilgrimage site from at least 1397. During the Reformation, the statue was burned and Henry VIII dissolved the abbey. The abbey’s bell tower, the “Yellow Steeple”, is the primary remnant of St. Mary’s.
The Maudlin Cemetery which was the site of the Leper Hospital of Mary Magdalene, and later a cemetery which was used as a burial ground for the poor who died in the workhouse.
I have visited the Trim many times as my mother’s immediate family live in Trim or are from the area but I was unaware of this old cemetery until I came across it today.
In 1892 Lord Walter Fitzgerald produced an account of this cemetery and here is a short extract: “This burial ground contains the old church of St. Mary Magdalen of which the chancel arch still survives. It is situated close to the town of Trim on its south side and seems now to be only used as a burial place for paupers who die in the trim workhouse nearby. Only two tombstones seem to have survived and they are situated to the east of the church ruins”.
I think that there are a few Maudlin Cemeteries in Ireland but I know, without doubt, that there is one in Naas which I have yet to photograph. The name is archaically spelled Maudlings; derives from Mary Magdalene, often depicted in art as mourning for Jesus after his crucifixion, and thus associated with burial grounds (cf. maudlin).
Lackanash from Leacain Ais meaning the hill-side of the milk. It is a small townland near to the town of Trim and there is little historical information available online.
I first saw this type of cow back in July 2003 and the story was not a happy one. A collection of life-size cows designed by Irish artists and public figures had to be taken off the streets of Dublin after vandals destroyed several of them. About 70 cows had been located on the streets of Dublin and Dundalk as part of the Bailey’s CowParade 2003, an international cultural art exhibition which visits cities all over the world. The initial 10 cows which were placed at city-centre locations were all damaged so badly that the organisers had no option but to remove them. Since then such sculptures are now usually installed at locations which are indoor or protected at night [I do not know if Dublin is/was unique].
CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenues, and parks. They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes.
After the exhibition in the city, which may last many months, the statues are auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity.
There are a few variations of shape, but the three most common shapes of cow were created by Pascal Knapp, a Swiss-born sculptor who was commissioned to create the cows specifically for the CowParade series of events. Pascal Knapp owns the copyrights to the standing, lying, and grazing cow shapes used in the CowParade events.
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