Irish traditional buildings - The Local Graveyard

Drawings by Rory O'Shaughnessy. Texts by Christy Cunniffe and John Joe Conwel

Graveyards are important sources of information for those undertaking research into their family history. They can hold really useful information on the names, place of origin, date of birth, date of death and even at times the cause of death of the deceased. Memorials of an early date can in fact provide information not available to the researcher through any other source. However, anomalies can occur; in most instances memorial stones are not erected for some time after the burial of the deceased so slight inaccuracies are often found in dates.

Ritual and Religion

Throughout history mankind has always felt a need to pay tribute to some particular god or deity. This belief in an afterlife has left us with a very rich tapestry of ritual and religious monuments. The earliest ritual monuments that we encounter are the great burial chambers collectively known as megalithic tombs. These large monuments were used for both ritual and burial and are often found as large prehistoric cemeteries. Worship and burial are still connected today by virtue of the coexistence in many instances of our modern churches and graveyards. Both features are of particular importance for people trying to trace their family history. Churches are important for the records they preserve and graveyards significant for the inscriptions and other family memories that they hold.

The Local Graveyard

Many of our older [historic graveyards] date back to medieval times and generally contain traces of the old medieval church around which the graveyard and greater parish evolved. In general the earliest memorials encountered only date from the eighteenth century onwards.      

An exception to this are a small number of seventeenth-century {tapered grave-slabs} and {mural plaques} found at a number of sites. They generally commemorate the more affluent in society and are often found at the larger houses of the religious orders where priests were available to say masses for the redemption of their souls. For many people nothing more than a simple un-inscribed stone marks their grave.

A search through a graveyard can be an emotional but rewarding experience for those that find what they are looking for. In some instances names of families no longer residing in the community are found. There absence can be linked to a number of factors such as mass-emigration, death through famine, or changes in the political, religious or social fabric in the community and provide challenges for local historians and genealogists to unravel. Memorial stones can be helpful in other ways too. They often bear [motifs] such as {vocational symbols} or {coats of arms} that allow us identify the occupation, or social rank, of the deceased; or may bear {Masonic symbols} suggesting that the deceased was a member of a local [Masonic lodge]. In that instance further information may be contained in the lodge records. The religious denomination of the deceased can often be ascertained through the particular types of religious symbols used on their memorial. A general rule of thumb is that resurrection symbols are more frequently associated with Catholic memorials while mortality symbols reflect a Protestant tradition. 

It is important to note that burial records, {plot books} and graveyard maps are by and large quite recent in origin. Records for the majority of historic graveyards go back no further than the early twentieth century only a few date to the nineteenth century. It is often best to find someone with local knowledge to identify individual family plotts. While they may not be able to confirm all individuals interred in the plot they weill invariably be able to help with other information such as where they lived and what other families they are related to. Local collective memory can often trace back people and events over a long period of time so should never be overlooked as a source of information.

Further Reading.

Mannion, M. (ed.) 1993 Galway Roots Clanna na Gaillimhe. Journal of the Galway Family History Society. Vol. I. FHS. Athlone.

Mannion, M. (ed.) 1994 Galway Roots Clanna na Gaillimhe. Journal of the Galway Family History Society. Vol. II. FHS. Athlone.

Mannion, M. (ed.) 1995 Galway Roots Clanna na Gaillimhe. Journal of the Galway Family History Society.  Vol. III. FHS. Athlone.

Mannion, M. (ed.) 1996-97 Galway Roots Clanna na Gaillimhe. Journal of the Galway Family History Society. Vol. IV. FHS. Athlone.

Mannion, M. (ed.) 1998 Galway Roots Clanna na Gaillimhe. Journal of the Galway Family History Society. Vol. IV. FHS. Athlone.

Mannion, M. (ed.) (n.d.) Memorial inscriptions of Castlegar graveyards, A record of seven graveyards in the Parish of Castlegar Co. Galway. Galway Family History Society (West). FHS. Jaycee. Galway.