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Cemeteries in Ireland - a general question

GalwayGort Kilmacduagh And Kiltartan (Galway)

Hello

I was just visiting Glin,Galway, and Gort with family, and we visited several graveyards looking for any traces of ancestors. When we were at Kilmacduagh, I was surprised by how few pre-1800 graves there were given that it is such an old site.

We also visited two graveyards in Glin and Loughill. We were surprised to find few graves that were marked as being prior to 1850.

Im wondering if this is because the graves in that era were marked with metal crosses that have since deteriorated, or even wooden ones. Or if people didn't generally have the income to afford an individual plot. Or if, because of the penal laws, there was a long period where catholic graveyards were not allowed.

Thank you for any information that could shed light on this.

Meg Ferris (O'Shaughnessy)

IrelandXO member

2 replies

The majority of the population in the 1800s couldn't afford a gravestone and were buried in graves that have no marker.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

I concur with Elwyn.

In my family my 2nd Great Grandfather (1801-1881) has a headstone in Drumacoo but he is the only one listed even though a lot more relatives are also buried there.

None of my Grandparents have headstones. 

Any baby that died is even harder to find.

I have a 5th Great Grandfather who has a flat stone in Kiltartan (1725-1795) but all of the generations after him in the same cemetery are unmarked. 

My Flynn family in Leitrim has not a single person with a marked headstone.

One cemetery that has my ancestors had the same caretaker for 50 years. it was learned upon his death, that he never recorded where specifically people were buried.. It was not a problem for folks who had headstones nor was it a problem for visiting family as they knew where their loved one was. Eventually people stop coming to visit and if your not marked you are erased.

regards,

Kevin

Kevin Flynn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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