Kilshannig ( Newberry ) Graveyard

Introduction

There are two old historic graveyards in Kilshannig parish that are still in use occasionally, however there are a number of others that have not been used in over one hundred years. Abbeyswell graveyard is covered in a separate post on this website and this article concentrates on the other historic one, Kilshannig Graveyard, that accompanied the establishment of Kilshannig Church and parish in about 1200 AD.

Christian burial procedures have changed very little over time until incineration returned in recent times, a throw back to a pagan custom that gave rise to many of our archaeological monuments such as cromlechs, cairns, standing stone markers and the crowning glory, Newgrange in County Meath.

General Information

There were three obligatory parts to the early monastic sites and these were –

• An altar
• A baptismal font
• A consecrated graveyard

Before dealing with the history of Kilshannig Graveyard it is worth noting some facts about graveyards in general:-

• Graveyards refer to sites associated with churches while cemeteries refer to burial places not attached to a church so Kilshannig is, technically, a graveyard
• Generally, people were buried facing East towards the rising sun but there are exceptions. Priests are often buried facing West to overlook their flock.
• Inscriptions became common only from the mid 1700’s, however, the wealthy, royalty, monks etc .had been using inscriptions and iconography much earlier.
• Field stones were the normal markers used before inscribed headstones became popular.
• Catholics were banned from using iconography on headstones until the penal laws were relaxed towards the end of the 1700’s. After Catholic Emansipation in 1829 very ornate iconography began to appear and one of the most famous is Armour Christi , of which there are numerous variations (see photo below) featuring many of the items associated with the Crucifiction of Christ.
• Protestant headstones have very limited iconography and another feature is that a number were placed horizontal rather than standing but once again there are exceptions such as in Killernan Graveyard near Spanish Point where most headstones are horizontal even though Catholic. These flat headstones are huge, weighing up to a half ton and their purpose was to prevent grave robbing of corpses which was rife at one time for medical research.

Armour Christi

Armor Christi iconography. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan

The paper rubbing shown here is of a headstone in Clonfert Graveyard and there are many variations to this feature. This one depicts many items connected with the crucifixion such as, the cross, the nails and the masons attention to detail showing the bent nails after removal from the cross. The ladder, spear, sponge on the reed, hammer, pliers, crown of thorns and an olive branch are all on this Armour Christi. The carvings were difficult to see so a paper rubbing was substituted.

Kilshannig (Newberry) Graveyard

This was a Catholic graveyard from about 1200 until 1581 when taken over by the state sponsored Established Church of England and Ireland along with the parish church and Kilshannig Parish itself.

The original graveyard attached to Kilshannig old monastic settlement was across the Blackwater River in the present day townland of Gortnagross (the field of the crosses ).This was a surprisingly large graveyard of about three acres in size probably being the only one on consecrated ground in the locality and attached to St. Seannach’s monastic settlement. With the introduction of the parish system in 1111 AD and the arrival of the Normans in 1169 the Catholic parish HQ seems to have moved to it’s present site with the attached graveyard.

This graveyard is about one acre in size and contains over 300 headstones but there are as many more unmarked graves in the site. A perusal of the burial records for the protestant community buried here indicate less than half have their inscriptions on headstones and there is no record of Catholic burials even though Catholics were always buried here. Occasional burials continue to take place in Kilshannig and the western area is mainly protestant while the eastern side is mixed. It should be noted also that Kilshannig was a famine graveyard but the location for such a mass grave is unknown.

The dilapidated building at the end of the passageway was the coach house and stables for the protestant Minister.

In c.1730 stocks and a whipping post were erected at the entrance gates to the graveyard as part of the penal system administered by the Newman manorial judge.

Notable Graves

This is a very historic graveyard and much of the history of the parish revolves around people buried here. The oldest inscribed headstone dates back to 1717 but older burials have been recorded. The following lists some of the more notable graves:-

Lombard Tomb (No.246) The ancestors of Princess Diana and Nano Nagle are buried in this tomb. James Lombard of Gortmolire, stated in his will in 1683, that he was to be buried in the family tomb in Kilshannig . James’s grand daughter, married into the Nagle family of Ballygriffin and they had two grand daughters of note, Nano and Margaret. Nano, we know all about but Margaret less so but her line is very significant. Her grand daughter married into the powerful Roche family of Trabolgan and their son became the 1^st. Baron Fermoy. Three barons later and daughter, Frances Roche married Edward Spenser and in 1961 Princess Diana was born. This sequence of events demonstrates a most unlikely blood relationship between Nano Nagle and Princess Diana and it also means that both ladies ancestors can be traced back to that tomb in Kilshannig Graveyard. It also means the next king of England will be able to do likewise.

Princess Diana/Nano Nagle Ancestors. Researched & compiled by Donie O Sullivan.

Mullane Tomb (No.142)

The O Mullane tomb in Kilshannig (Newberry) graveyard. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan

This tomb is located beside the south wall of the church. The inscription is faded and difficult to read and the fact that most of it is in Church Latin makes it impossible to decipher and experts surmise it belongs to the 1500’s. The English section is later and more legible. Efforts to record the inscriptions are incomplete but can be seen on the website historicgraves.com. This tomb is famous as the burial place of Catherine O Mullane who was Daniel O Connell’s mother, the famous liberator.

Eamon (Ned) Wasters (No.119)

Patriot and martyr who was murdered by British forces during the Nadd roundup on 10/3/1921. A native of Glashabee near Bweeng and his demise is covered in a separate post.

John Curtain’s Ancestors (No.214) John Curtain’s grandfather emigrated to Australia from Kilpadder in 1873 and he became Prime Minister of Australia in 1941. His story will be told on another post on this website.

Denis John Winn (No.197). A native of Dromore who rode the first Irish horse to win the Aintree Grand National and his story deserves its own post on this website.

George Bolster, Curraghbower (No.247) George was an important person in the parish after setting up the Curraghbower Estate in 1818. He was a farmer, peace commissioner, industrialist, miller, Griffith’s valuer and his story will be covered in a separate post to this website.

Benn Family, Millford (No.262) There are two horizontal headstones to this family in Kilshannig and interestingly the name Anthony Benn appears in one of them. There is a belief in the extended Benn family that Sir Anthony Wedgewood Benn is connected to these Benns. He was a famous, straight talking member of Jim O Callaghans government. When asked about his family history he admitted knowing little and wrote that his mother could throw no light on the subject. See extract of letter below. The Benns had a small grist corn mill beside Longfields Bridge which has disappeared but a two storey house exists at the site entrance. Millford was only a postal address and not a townland and is now part of Newberry townland.

Tony Benn letter to Mrs Hatters.

Croke Grave (No.56) There is strong evidence that Archbishop Croke’s father is buried in this Croke plot but there is no definite proof of this. It has been established, however, that his mother is buried in Charleville but not his father.

A paper rubbing of the Knights grave cap stone. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan,

Knights Templar/Hospitaller (No.261) This is not a grave but a grave capstone unearthed during re-refurbishment of the graveyard by Canon Swansy in the 1850’s. He realised its significance and had it inserted in the boundary wall for safe keeping. Various experts have examined the stone and it is generally accepted it was a capstone on the grave of an abbot of Mourne Abbey Preceptory which was robbed of its precious contents. The iconography. depicting a chalice like object with five floral decorations has been identified as a symbol of the Royal Monarchy of France and represents the transition from the Knights Templar to the Knights Hospitallers which would date it to about 1200 AD, the very beginning of this site as a parish centre. Speculation abounds as to why the Abbot was buried in Kilshannig and the only explanation I can offer is that perhaps this Abbot was an O Callaghan from Dromineen. As this is a well known and famous grave capstone, a paper rubbing is includes, as the image on the stone is difficult to see.

Sarah Curran (No.255). An unusual headstone destined for Sarah Curran’s grave in Newmarket Protestant graveyard ended up, inexplicably, here. Different stories have emerged regarding the circumstances of how this happened. One suggests that the headstone was taken without payment and hidden in Kilshannig while another tells of how the headstone was commissioned in Cork City and was to be inscribed locally but that Newmarket and Newberry (Kilshannig) got mixed up. Interestingly, I met a man searching for that headstone and he had a an interesting story to tell when I approached him. He told me that he had been searching in the graveyard for a number of years for a headstone for Sarah Curran. He explained how his great, great grandmother witnessed the arrival of the headstone and as they unloaded it from the cart it slipped and fell. The top section broke off and it was then put against the ditch and abandoned. He indicated that it was a clean break and would recognise it from the description handed down and when I showed the headstone he immediately knew it was the right one. Canon Swanzy erected it in the graveyard but Sarah Curran is not buried there. There is no inscription on the headstone but one side is smoothed off for that purpose.

Newman Family (No.4) The most influencial family in the parish from their arrival here in 1686 until they sold out in 1933 to the Sisters of Nazareth. There are a couple of headstones to members of the Newman family but one stands out as being rather unusual, It consists of a large boulder inscribed on a number of faces with inlaid lead inscriptions and a concrete cross laid on it.

Historic Graves Project

In 2011, IRD Duhallow, through Leader funding organised the recording of inscriptions on old historic graves and Kilshannig was tackled by a local group of volunteers. Details of this project are included in a separate article on this website.