Tomb - chest tomb

The National Monuments Service's description

Two stones associated with the memorial of Sir Thomas Cusack dated 1571 (FitzGerald 1917; Hickey 1971, 82-90) are in the chancel area of Trevet parish church (ME038-017----), but a small armorial stone (ME032-001003-) was moved to Staffordstown church, probably before 1750, where it cannot now be located, and a large side-stone depicting the family is now displayed in the Church of Ireland church at Tara (ME031-033084-) (Hickey 1971, 77-82). A broken heraldic stone (ME038-017002-) with the family tree is in the chancel of Trevet.
Another stone (dims 2.15m x 0.87m), also in the chancel, is broken in several places and has an incised inscription in Latin commemorating Sir Thomas, who was Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, or chief law officer, at one point (FitzGerald 1917). The stone was carved by his son John, and the epitaph composed by a grandson, James. The inscription is surrounded by mementes mori – death as a skeleton aiming an arrow at Sir Thomas who holds an hour-glass, a shroud with a spirit arising from it, and a mermaid for the Cusack family. Hickey (1971, 82-3) concludes that the stones were commissioned c. 1604-09 by Sir Abrose Forthe, who held the tithes of Trevet and was married to a granddaughter of Sir Thomas.

See the attached PDF document for a description of the stone and inscription by Hickey (1971).

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 19 March, 2015

References

Hickey, E. 1971 Monument to Sir Thomas Cusack. Ríocht na Mídhe, 4, 5, 75-91.

FitzGerald, Lord W. 1917 Trevet, St. Patrick's Church ruins, Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, 10, 1, 130-32.