 In many years chilling out in graveyards, I have seen a vast range of ornaments and gifts on graves. Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t seen a Meerkat Skibbereen set that one right……… 
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 At this stage of life, I fear that the flying apostrophe could be a disorder of the Obsessive Compulsive type….. I have spotted a few typographical errors and corrections on headstones in cemeteries around the country – spelling and grammatical. A few weeks back in Skibbereen, I spotted a rare error of arithmetic.  If born in August 1906 One would not be one year old until August 1907 One would not be two years old until August 1908 One would not be 3 years old until August 1909 One would not be 103 years old until………… One Headstone – a few unanswered questions.  Inár gcuimhne go buan – Always remembered The Headstone The Annual Cemetery Mass at Grange was held on Friday evening, 11th July. Many relatives of those buried at Grange, Tullow in County Carlow were at the graveyard in the last few days tidying up the family graves in advance of the Cemetery mass, also known as The Pattern. On Thursday evening, Alan was at Grange to do the final tidy-up for the following evening. He sent me the above photograph. It definitely does not look 105 years old. The blackness of the letters; the use of 11 for November and, particularly, 09 for September; and, the script appearing, to these eyes, to be machine done and not hand-carved all made me wonder as to when the stone was erected. Alan told me that he had not noticed it before. As he was using the rear access road last week, he passed the headstone. This has led to a few hours on Google Streetview and Google Earth. Streetview confirms that the headstone was erected between 2011 and 2019 – the view from intervening years is obscured by headstones. Google Earth provides a history of the extension of the graveyard. Between Apil 2013 and June 2013, the graveyard was extended into the field to the rear. The rear access road appears to have been constructed between July 2021 and August 2022. As for the headstone to John Gaughan, it appears to have been erected between May 2020 and July 2021 – a period that includes the 100 year anniversary of the death of John Gaughan. The Death After seeing what appeared to be a new-ish headstone, my next thought, based upon the year of death, was a question as to whether John Gaughan, was a victim of the Irish War of Independence – he was. Aged 34, he had been an Irish teacher and was Roman Catholic. “From Belmullet, Constable Gaughan joined the RIC in 1908, stationed in Wicklow and later in Tullow, Carlow. His father secured £760 compensation……. Intimidation
I sense a search for the RIC General Personnel Register to try to find out if John Gaughan cited any reason in his resignation letter. Remembrance During my Local History course some years back, page 105 of Clodagh Tait’s book was the reference cited in the most of my essays. “By choosing an identity from the most acceptable elements of one’s past, present and future, and rendering this in stone, a medium which by its very nature could convey added veracity, solidity and permanency, reality could be created and controlled by the patron. Moreover, once reality is constructed in this manner, monuments allow for no doubt or argument. Their owners may be denounced or discredited, but monuments will continue to proclaim their own brand of truth. This is why contemporaries occasionally found it necessary to destroy monuments. The propaganda element inherent in them could not be countered in any other way.” I have a spreadsheet of memorials that have been damaged, removed, or covered in red paint. Those associated with the slave trade may be the category in the recent memory of many. Many memorials in Ireland to representatives of the Crown would have been an earlier category. But there are many others – I did a blog post a few years back linking Charlie Kerins, Queen Victoria and Fiona Pender: Donal Fallon’s podcast on Mount Jerome cemetery in Dublin educated that the headstone to Martin Cahill, The General, was repeatedly smashed to pieces and he now resides in an unmarked grave (0:41.40).
“Tobias O’Sullivan is buried as an Irish policemen under the British Empire and as such is destined to be officially ‘unremembered’ in a newly independent Irish state. The only memorials for men like O’Sullivan will exist in quiet homes – a photograph or keepsake on the mantle piece beside a votive candle; the bloodstained tunic he was wearing when he was shot, kept in a private place until his widow has died and eventually it vanishes. These Irishmen who killed and were killed by other Irishmen in the War of Independence are not commemorated or publicly mourned.” Patrick Pearse’s oration at the burial of O’Donovan Rossa concludes with the oft-quoted “They think that they have foreseen everything, think that they have provided against everything; but the fools, the fools, the fools! — they have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace” Annual Commemorations and parades to the Manchester Martyrs and others were a rallying call of togetherness. All commemoration is selective – remembering one over another – one person; one group; or, one ideology. If uncommemorated, if not written in stone, chances are significantly reduced that one might be considered a ‘martyred dead’ who would might be called upon. A monument exists to Gardai who died in service since 1922. There is an annual Garda Memorial Day. Different times. The first Famine memorial erected in Ireland did not happen until after a hundred years. Irish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War; those buried in Cillíní around the country; residents of Mother & Baby Homes were not commemorated for some years. Garda Henry Phelan was the first member of An Garda Síochána to be killed – shot by Anti-Treaty IRA in 1922, commemorated in Mullinahone 100 years later. I sit here wondering if the intimidation of the time extended to pressure on the family of John Gaughan not to erect a headstone UPDATE 2025.07.14 Brian Hughes’ article on RTE Brainstorm entitled Outcasts: how Ireland shunned the R.I.C. and their families is worth a read “The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,  Last Wednesday, I read the first stanza of Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard in St Patrick’s Cemetery in Bandon. Another added to the list of songs and poems read on headstones. I do have a vague recollection that this may have been in our Leaving certificate book – may need to check a reprinted copy of Soundings.  Joseph Ryan has a plot in an Australian Cemetery – Would he have received one in an Irish Cemetery?5/7/2025  Photo By Jacqui Andrew - FindAGrave.com Joseph Gerard Ryan died in 1909. He is buried in Sandstone Cemetery in Western Australia. His mother, Sally (Tully) Ryan was born in County Carlow. His father Jeremiah Joseph Ryan was also born in Ireland. Joseph Gerard was their fifth of ten children. It was transcribing photographs on FindAGrave.com this morning that I first cam across Joseph Gerard Ryan. Reading STILLBORN on the grave marker and assuming Irish extraction, I immediately wondered if Joseph Gerard would have been afforded a plot in a cemetery if his parents had remained in Ireland, or if he would have been buried clandestinely in a cillín with his name never recorded. A reminder to self to get back to the research on the cillíní of Ireland……….  Photo by Richard Glazebrook on FindAGrave.com An early rise this morning – compliments of a head cold that had me coughing and spluttering after a full week. What better rabbit hole to spend an early morning than a murder mystery. I spent a few hours this morning transcribing photographs on FindAGrave – and it was then that I was stopped by Guilio Scherini and the Sandstone Cemetery in Western Australia. The red earth of the cemetery was so typical of the image of Western Australia – combined with different grave markings meant it was so different to the graveyards that I frequent on the other side of the world.  The next pause-for-thought did surprise me – the modern markers include the cause of death. This appears the norm with the newish-looking markers which appear to be installed by OutbackGraves.org John Abernethy, a woodcutter, died 1908 of a rupture of the brain. Bob Allen, a miner and contractor, died 1929, suicide by gunshot. Frank Turney, store manager, died 1909 of heart failure. I sense a trip through the memorials at Sandstone Cemetery to read the various causes of death recorded will not be too far away – the things one does to pass the time enjoyably.  This diversion to Australia started at early o’clock with Guilis Scherini, aka Guilio Scherini. He departed this life in 1911 – nearly 124 years ago but when his grave marker came on the screen for transcription, it had one of my hook words – MURDERED  Patrick Connell pre-deceased Guilio by 83 years – his headstone also contains the word MURDERED despite the court ruling of ‘not guilty, having committed the act while labouring under mental derangement.’ Jackie Flanagan’s headstone in Kildare includes the word KILLED – and again led to a blog post. Thanks to OutbackGraves.com, I learnt that Ambragio Ambrosini was acquitted of the attempted murder of Guilio Scherini in the early hours of the morning of 5th September, 1911. I am unsure if I would have included MURDERED on the grave marker but that may come from the burial records……. |
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