Graveyard

The National Monuments Service's description

The graveyard attached to the south and south-east of St Patrick’s Cathedral (DU018-020269-) was known as the ‘Green Churchyard’ and is annotated ‘Cathedral Grave Yd.’ on the 1837 edition of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland six-inch map. This section of the graveyard is also depicted on Rocque's 1756 map of Dublin City.  An older graveyard possibly associated with the pre-Norman church was located immediately to the north of St Patrick’s Cathedral and to the east of Minot’s Tower. This graveyard was annotated ‘Old Burial Ground’ on Kendrick’s 1754  map of the Dean’s Liberty which was redrawn in 1818 (Drew 1891).   In 1793 the northern boundary of this graveyard was defined by a high wall which is shown on James Malton’s 1793 view of the north façade of the cathedral (Malton 1797). On this painting the wall is shown running eastwards off the north-east corner of Minot’s Tower.  Two flat-headed doorways are depicted at the east end of this section of wall. Behind the wall there are the crenellations of the roof of a northern aisle now removed which defined the eastern side of the ‘Old Burial Ground’.  Today there are no surface remains visible of the ‘Old Burial Ground’ and the surface is covered with modern pavement. 

Both of these graveyards were described by Dr. John Bernard the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral from 1902-11 as follows; ‘The oldest burying-place in connection with St. Patrick's was situated in that part of the precincts which now lies north of the tower. This was the cemetery attached to the ancient parish church of St. Patrick, long before it was given collegiate or cathedral status; and a few broken tombstones with Celtic crosses and markings inscribed on them still remain to recall its memory.  But of the names of persons buried here, there are no written records.  The part of the churchyard to the east and south-east of the cathedral is that with which these notes are concerned. It was formerly called the "Green Churchyard," or the "Vicars' Dawn."  It was used for centuries for burial purposes; and as far back as 1666 it was found to be overcrowded, when the "Cabbage Garden" (to the south of the Deanery, up Cathedral Lane) [DU018-020356-] was set apart by the Dean and Chapter as a burial-place for the inhabitants of the Close and St. Nicholas' Without. The "French Churchyard," [DU018-020163-] provided for the use of the Huguenot congregation which used to worship in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick's, adjoins the Cabbage Garden.  The Green Churchyard was closed for burials in 1868, the rights of officials of the cathedral and of a few other persons being preserved. The inscriptions on the tombstones, which date from a period prior to 1850, have been faithfully copied by Mrs. Long, so far as they are legible. It seems to have been fashionable for the Aldermen of the city to be buried at St. Patrick's during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And several persons belonging to the Wesleyan Methodist body, ministers and others, were buried here during the early part of the nineteenth century’ (Anon. 1906, 292-3). This area of the graveyard to the south and east of the cathedral has memorials still visible and is enclosed by a stone wall capped with iron railings. 

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

References

Malton, J. 1797  St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Watercolour ca. 1797.  Victoria and Albert Museum, Accession Number 172-1890. 

Anon. 1906 St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Inscriptions on the Tombstones in the Green Churchyard. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, Vol. VI, 1904-06, 292-308.

Drew, T. 1891 Surroundings of the cathedral church of St. Patrick De Insula, Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 21, 426-32.

Rocque, J. 1756 An exact survey of the city and suburbs of Dublin in which is express'd the ground plot of all publick buildings, dwelling houses, ware houses, stables, courts yards &c / by John Rocque, chorographer to their Royal Highnesses, the late & present Prince of Wales, 1756 ; A. Dury Sculpt.