Graveyard

The National Monuments Service's description

At Burrishoole 15th-century Dominican friary (MA067-014001-), encompassing the low hill on which the friary is sited.
On the 1838 OS 6-inch map the graveyard is depicted as a subrectangular walled area bordering the E side of the friary. By the time of the 1920 edition it had expanded to its current extent, fully surrounding the friary, its limits defined by the waters of the tidal sea inlet (Burrishoole Channel) at W and N and by stone walls at S and E, with an entrance through a metal gate at NE.
There is a moderate density of graves on the grassy slopes surrounding the friary, and a higher density within the friary itself. The oldest graves, mostly 19th-century graveslabs and headstones, are found to the E of the friary, throughout the interior of the church and in the area of the cloister and the E range. The oldest known burial monument is a chest tomb (MA067-014005-) dating to 1623, which can be seen in an altar recess in the S chapel of the church. In the nave is a cross erected to the memory of Father Manus Sweeney, who took part in the 1798 rebellion and was hanged in Newport in 1799. Most of the graves to the S, W and N of the friary date to the early 20th century. The graveyard is still in use but only for existing family plots. There are 20th-century extensions to the graveyard at S and E.

Attached images:
MA067-014002-_01.JPG Graveyard viewed from SW
MA067-014002-_02.JPG Viewed from S
MA067-014002-_03.JPG Viewed from S
MA067-014002-_04.JPG Graves extend to the waters edge
MA067-014002-_05.JPG Graves within the nave of the church
MA067-014002-_06.JPG Memorial to Fr. Manus Sweeney within the church

Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye and Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 12 January 2022