Back in August 2021 my my first visit to this cemetery did not go well as there was very heavy rain for the duration of my visit which I had to abandon. I then had to wait for more than 90 minutes for a bus [216] back to the city centre which was really annoying as I could have walked in less than half the time. I suspect that the frequency of the service may have been reduced because of covid restrictions. I did not realise that buses run every 10 minutes between Cork and Wilton Road, stop 240571 which is close to the cemetery.
This year the weather was beautiful and I spent about an hour photographing at random. This time I only had to wait 5 minutes for the number 216 bus and when I boarding the bus the driver mentioned that the bus stopped near a very interesting old graveyard in Douglas. I took his advice.
St. Finbarr’s Cemetery in Cork, Ireland, is the city’s largest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Ireland which is still in use. Located on the Glasheen Road, it was first opened in the 1860s. The entrance gateway was erected circa 1865, and the mortuary chapel consecrated in 1867.
Many of the early burials were of the wealthy citizens of the city. Unlike older cemeteries, St. Finbarr’s was professionally laid out with numbered pathways and wide avenues.
Among those buried at St. Finbarr’s Cemetery are hurler and Taoiseach Jack Lynch; the sculptor Seamus Murphy, the antiquarian Richard Rolt Brash who was among the first to decipher writing in the ancient Ogham writing style; the English composer Arnold Bax; and Cork’s first Lord Mayor Daniel Hegarty.
St. Finbarr’s contains one of the largest burial plots of Irish Republicans who died during the 1920s. There are also more recent burials of members of the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. This is known as the Cork Republican Plot, and among those buried there are former Lords Mayor of Cork Terence McSwiney and Tomás Mac Curtain, hunger striker Joseph Murphy. In the early hours of 17 March 1963, in protest at the unveiling later that day of a monument in the Republican Plot by President De Valera, IRA volunteers Desmond Swanton and Jeremiah Madden attempted to blow up the monument. However, during this attempt there was an explosion which killed Swanton and severely injured Madden (who lost an eye and a leg). [5] Other republicans who are buried at St. Finbarr’s, but not in the Republican Plot, include Flying Column leader Tom Barry, government minister J. J. Walsh and Dan “Sandow” O’Donovan. Commemorations of the 1916 Rising are held annually at the Republican Plot on Easter Sunday by various groups including Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, the Workers’ Party of Ireland and Republican Sinn Féin.
The “musicians’ corner” contains the graves of Aloys Fleischmann (Senior) and Aloys Fleischmann, and the composer Arnold Bax.
It also contains a mass grave containing the remains of 72 women who died at St. Vincent’s Magdalene Laundry on Peacock Lane in Cork. A family of an identified women buried in this grave have called for the site to be investigated.
ST. PATRICK’S COLLEGE CEMETERY – MAYNOOTH COLLEGE CAMPUS MAY 2021
Yesterday I had to abandon my visit to Maynooth because of heavy rain that began almost as soon as I had arrived. When I got up today the weather was really good so I decided to give Maynooth one more try and when I arrived at 2pm the weather was warm and sunny so I took the opportunity to visit the University Campus.
It may surprise many visitors to discover that Maynooth College has its own graveyard. The cemetery can be found past the Junior Garden on campus.
While the College was founded in 1795, the first to be buried in the new College Cemetery was Rev Francis Power from Cork (1737 – 1817), who was the first Bursar and Vice President, was appointed Professor of French in 1802, and died in 1817. Four members of the College staff, who died before 1817, were buried in Laraghbryan Cemetery on the Kilcock Road, west of the Campus.
There are a number of students, Sisters and staff resting in the College Cemetery. Many of the students died of consumption, as tuberculosis was called at the time. The Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul provided the healthcare for students and staff. The most recent burial was that of Maurice Dunne from Tralee (1939 – 2009). He had worked in the College since 1961 and died on his 70th birthday. [Note: I noticed two new graves today 17 May 2021].
Years ago I came across the following story: “If you visit Maynooth today, you might come across an old building on the campus called Rhetoric House. You might notice that one of the windows on the top floor is boarded-up and you might wonder why. If you ask someone, they will tell you this is The Ghost Room. Many years ago, students who went to Maynooth would live on the top floor of the building. There was one young man who was assigned to sleep in Room No.2. One day, when he didn’t show up for lectures, his friends went looking for him. They found his dead body lying in a pool of blood on the floor of Room No.2 with his throat slit from ear to ear. Clutched in his hand was a bloody razor and it appeared that he had taken his own life. Ireland was a Catholic country and, at the time, suicide was seen as a terrible sin.”
“The matter was hushed up by the college and the student was buried in an unconsecrated part of the college cemetery, away from the other graves.”
As you may have guessed, according to local legend, this story was repeated the next year [note: according to the records the deaths were nineteen years apart]. Some locals claim, that three people died in a similar manner while in the same room but while the official records indicate that the two students are buried in within the walls of the graveyard there is no mention of a third student.
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