Graveyard

NEW WILD GEESE MUSEUM IN LIMERICK – ST MUNCHIN’S CHURCH AND GRAVEYARD

May 5, 2022 by Infomatique

NEW WILD GEESE MUSEUM IN LIMERICK – ST MUNCHIN’S CHURCH AND GRAVEYARD

I was unable to visit Limerick in 2020 because of travel restrictions and when I visited Limerick last September this churchyard was closed to the public.

In the past I have complained that it always rains every time I visit Limerick, even at the height of summer. This year I took a huge gamble on the weather and forecast the day before I travelled to the city was that it would constantly during the week but it only rained for a few hours on my first day and for the duration of my visit to St. Munchin’s Church (Church of Ireland).

When I visited today [19 April 2022] I discovered that it was now operating as the “Wild Geese Museum” [explained below] which was officially launched as part of the 2021 Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival on 9th July. I also visited on the 20th. but had problems with my camera so I did not manage to photo the interior of the church as I had planned.

A joint project by the Limerick Civic Trust, the Limerick Museum and the Consular Agency of France in Limerick (French Embassy) this new museum celebrates the city’s rich Wild Geese heritage by giving an overview of the history of those who left Ireland over the centuries and went on to fight in foreign armies across Europe and the world.

The term Wild Geese was originally coined to refer more specifically to the 14,000 Jacobite soldiers and their families who left Limerick, led by Patrick Sarsfield, following the signing of the Treaty in 1691. The majority of them, including Sarsfield, ended up joining the French army of king Louis XIV. Many of them, and their descendants, settled and prospered in France (a significant number of them, known as the ‘wine geese’, in the Bordeaux engaging in wine production) greatly contributing to strengthening the links between France and Ireland.

The museum tells their story and features a wide range of objects from the collections of the Limerick Museum which had never been put on display before.

I must admit that I had, up until a few years ago, believed that Munchin was not a real name, maybe because I had confused it with the word munchkin. I learned that I was wrong when I came upon St. Munchin’s Church across the road from King John’s castle.

St. Munchin’s Church (Church of Ireland) built in 1827. Designed by The George and James Pain who gave the building a Gothic style. The four pinnacles at the top of the tower provide this church a distinguished aspect. The church is situated in King’s Island, between the Bishop’s Palace and the Villier’s Alms Houses. It was built in 1827 and was renovated in 1980 by the Limerick Civic Trust. It was a used for a period by the Island Theatre Company and is now used, until this year, as a store for Limerick Civic Trust.

Mainchín mac Setnai (fl. late 6th century), also anglicised to Munchin, was allegedly the founder of the church of Luimneach (now Limerick), Ireland, and a saint in Irish tradition, acquiring special eminence as patron of Limerick City. Both his origins and the date of his association with the city are debated.

Through his father Sétna, Mainchín is alleged to belong to the Dál Cais, given a pedigree linking him to the ancestors of the O’Brien dynasty. His tutor was the Corco Mruad saint Mac Creiche according to the Life of that saint. Mainchín is said to have founded Luimneach when Ferdomnach, king from the Dál Cais, granted him land at Inis Sibtond.

A major problem with the above is that the Dál Cais themselves are unknown by that name before the 930s and are believed by scholars to be the descendants of a Déisi population which migrated into the region at an uncertain period. Before the Dál Cais the greater region appears to have been dominated for a time by another people entirely, the Uí Fidgenti, who eventually found themselves much displaced by the Dál Cais in the second half of the 10th century and following, although after having previously overrun many of the Déisi themselves in the very same territories.

It has been argued that his appearance in Limerick is actually due to his adoption by the later Norse there, with whom the O’Donovan family, late representatives of the kingdom (although of uncertain origins themselves), were closely associated.

In fact no “successors” of Mainchín in Limerick are known before the 12th century and so his existence there cannot be verified before then.

In the Martyrology of Donegal, Mainchín’s feast day occurs on 29 December. In Bruree, his feast day is commemorated on 2 January, but this date may have been erroneously taken from that recorded for St Manchán (Manchéne) of Min Droichit in the Félire Óengusso. The Roman Martyrology also lists January 2 as Mainchín of Limerick’s memorial.

The origins of St Munchin’s parish can be traced back to the Treaty of Limerick of 1691. Originally called St Lelia’s parish, the name was changed to St Munchin’s in 1812. There are currently churches in the parish named in honour of both saints.

St Munchin’s parish is one of the five original parishes in Limerick City along with St John’s, St Michael’s, St Mary’s and St Patrick’s. However with the growth of Limerick City in the last 40 years, the area of St Munchin’s has been reduced greatly due to the creation of new parishes. In 1964 the parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was created, from the south eastern part of St Munchin’s parish. [I assume that this creation of new parishes applies to the Roman Catholic Church and not to the Church Of Ireland]

In 1970 the parish of Christ the King in Caherdavin to the west was created and six years later to the north of the old St Munchin’s parish, the parish of Corpus Christi in Moyross was created. The population of the parish is around 10,000.

ST KEVIN’S PARK 17 MARCH 2022

March 18, 2022 by Infomatique

ST KEVIN’S PARK 17 MARCH 2022

Ever since the demolition of Kevin Street College this old church has felt different, maybe because of additional sunlight.

There was a St. Kevin’s Church in what is now St. Kevin’s Park, Camden Row, Dublin, Ireland at least as far as the 13th century. After the Reformation, it became an Anglican Church. The original church was replaced around 1750 by a new one, closed in 1912 and now in ruins. Both churches were dedicated to Kevin of Glendalough. There is also a Catholic St. Kevin’s Church a short distance away on Harrington Street.

During the 17th and 18th centuries many notable people resident in the suburbs south of the city were interred here. After the Reformation, although a Protestant cemetery, it had come by custom to be used by Catholics and the Quakers.

In 1825 John D’Arcy, owner of Anchor Breweries, the second largest porter company in Dublin at the time, was to be buried in St. Kevin’s cemetery, having died suddenly after falling from his horse. When his funeral procession from Francis St. reached St. Kevin’s cemetery the sexton, under the authority of the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Magee, met it at the gate and forbade Catholic prayers being recited at the grave-side; they had to be said on the roadway. The mourners retreated peacefully, but a huge outcry erupted as soon as the facts became known, which reached the ears of the Lord Lieutenant, The Marquess Wellesley (brother of the Duke of Wellington, and himself married to a Catholic). He expressed disapproval of Dr. Magee’s order, and despite much opposition (cemeteries were a valuable source of income to their owners) tried to alleviate Catholic grievances. Daniel O’Connell used the scandal provoked by this to such effect that he was able to get through the legislation in establishing Golden Bridge (1829) and Prospect (1831) cemeteries, which led to the establishment of Glasnevin Cemetery.

At the start of the 19th century the cemetery, like many others in Dublin, became a target of the body-snatchers, although it was surrounded by high walls (changed to railings in the 1960s). In February 1830 a Frenchman named Nagles and his friend were attacked by a group of “sack-em-ups” lying in wait near the cemetery. The criminals’ attention was diverted by the arrival of a cart-load of dead bodies, giving Nagles the opportunity to escape and notify the police at Arran Quay, who apprehended the culprits. On one occasion a body-snatcher was chased as far as Thomas Street, where he finally dropped his booty—the body of a young girl.

In June 1961 the body of a local five-year-old boy Tommy Powell from Cuffe Street was found in the graveyard. Blood-stained stones found nearby indicated that he had been murdered, but despite an intensive investigation, the murderer was never discovered.

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ST KEVIN’S PARK – BUT THE COLLEGE IS GONE

January 4, 2022 by Infomatique

ST. KEVIN’S PARK WAS BESIDE KEVIN STREET COLLEGE THE LAST TIME I WAS IN THE AREA

I visit St Kevin’s Park and old Church every year at Christmas but this visit the place felt very different, as if something was missing. Initially I thought that it was the lack of people in the park but a I was about to leave I suddenly realised that Kevin Street College was missing.

In 1963, the Minister for Education signed a contract for a new building for the College of Technology at Kevin Street. The project was completed in 1968, with Hooper & Mayne as the architects. It was described as an International Style building, with the administration and entrance block to Kevin Street capped by a wavy canopy on the fourth floor.

The Kevin Street College site was sold in April 2019 for €140 million: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/frank-mcdonald-what-s-not-to-like-about-dublin-s-new-kevin-st-development-quite-a-lot-1.4321803

People buried here include:

Rev John Austin S.J. (1717–1784), a pioneer of Catholic education in Ireland, whose tomb was restored by Rev. Dr. John T. Laphen, of St. Catherines, Meath St.
Jean Jasper Joly (1740–9 November 1823), captain of the Irish Volunteers in 1798.
John Keogh (1740–1817), intimate friend of Theobald Wolfe Tone, who once owned the land where Mount Jerome Cemetery now stands.
Hugh Leeson, brewer, whose gravestone lies against the south wall of the church and whose family gave its name to Leeson Street and became Earls of Milltown and owners of Russborough House, county Wicklow.
The Moore Family (of Thomas Moore).
In 1825 John D’Arcy, owner of Anchor Breweries, the second largest porter company in Dublin at the time, was to be buried in St. Kevin’s cemetery, having died suddenly after falling from his horse. When his funeral procession from Francis St. reached St. Kevin’s cemetery the sexton, under the authority of the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Magee, met it at the gate and forbade Catholic prayers being recited at the grave-side; they had to be said on the roadway. The mourners retreated peacefully, but a huge outcry erupted as soon as the facts became known, which reached the ears of the Lord Lieutenant, The Marquess Wellesley (brother of the Duke of Wellington, and himself married to a Catholic). He expressed disapproval of Dr. Magee’s order, and despite much opposition (cemeteries were a valuable source of income to their owners) tried to alleviate Catholic grievances. Daniel O’Connell used the scandal provoked by this to such effect that he was able to get through the legislation in establishing Golden Bridge (1829) and Prospect (1831) cemeteries, which led to the establishment of Glasnevin Cemetery.