Category: Cemeteries - Reading the Signs

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Mischief Managed

19/8/2026

Killiney Graveyard, Castlegregory, Co. Kerry

“I Do Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good”

Learning From Headstones

A chill out afternoon. Me-time in the graveyard. Annual visit to Killiney churchyard.

First time noticing ‘Mischief Managed’.

Atlantic Headstones were working elsewhere in the cemetery and kindly scratched my curiosity itch. The message seemingly came for Harry Potter – subsequently confirmed by our younger generation who provided the link.

The quote on the headstone is from The Hobbit - “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.”

Another headstone that prompted a stop, a pause and a smile.

O.E.F.B.

18/8/2026

Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath

One Headstone ….. Many Questions

The most challenging question comprises 4 letters – O.E.F.B. The internet was of no assistance. My best guess is that is a family joke like – L.W.B.

As they used to say on T.V. and the transistor years ago – answers on a postcard please.

Was ‘Tony’ a late addition? The lettering does look a bit different – so maybe. If not an addendum, why is the line not centred?

I do remember seeing the addition of a name as ‘Erected By’ before but as to where, I cannot remember.

Why the apostrophe? That has me beaten.

Why are Charles and John James not in chronological order? A possible answer is that John was cremated and only subsequently were the ashes buried.

If the purpose of a headstone is to prompt the passer-by to stop and pause a while, this is a success.

The Spike Milligan Effect

17/8/2026

“I told you I was terrible”

Milltown Cemetery, outside Dingle

I have seen similar message in another cemetery.

Not original, but still brought a smile.

Smile was greater thinking that the message in An Gaeltacht and in Cork are both in English whereas the message in East Sussex is ‘as Gaeilge’ - Dúirt mé leat go mé breoite

Naming The Unnamed

17/3/2026

This morning on Bluesky, I saw a post by the Friends of Lister Lane cemetery. It was a photograph of a memorial at Edgerton Cemetery in Huddersfield to those children buried in unmarked graves. It prompted me to try to assemble those throughts and ideas that have been rambling around my head into something – this blog post.

Last week in Clopook, Co. Laois, I spotted that some more headstones that moved the thought of infant dead towards the top of my brain list.

There are very many headstones with unnamed infants. Regularly there might be a reference to the likes of ‘Their two young sons, died young’ or ‘And his infant brother.’ My nephew was stillborn twenty-four years ago. He was named and his name went on the grave marker. From my graveyard strolls, especially in earlier years, naming was not always done.

Young Mr Kelly may have waited 50 years from his existence to be recognised in stone

The Laffan headstone appears modern and machine-cut. I wonder if Bridget’s name was carved only when Matty died.

Michael Brennan is named after his mother who died a year later. A subsequent headstone places his father, traditional head of the family, first on the headstone despite he dying 67 years after Michael.

Headstones not in chronological order are very frequently encountered. Subject to a detailed study, my impression is that in such situations a male is generally the first named.

These two memorials are at Grey Abbey in Kildare town – just behind Kildare Village and to the likes of me, much more deserving of a visit. Eileen (Aileen) died in 1948, three years after James yet the markers look new and of modern construction.

There are more and more memorials in cemeteries, at cillíní and at churches to those buried in unmarked graves. My study some years ago found that the erecting of memorial plaques to the dead children is a reasonably modern tradition.

This is a prompt to self to restart the research into where my own uncle may be buried while I can still talk with some of that generation…..

How to Brighten Brighton…..

12/3/2026

I managed to tick Ballyadams Cemetery off my TO VISIT list on Monday. It was on the list primarily to see the Bowen’s monument and the high-status monuments.

“1631 memorial to Robert Bowen & his wife Alice Harpole in a small graveyard in Ballyadams in south-east Laois, apparently the graveyard's high-status monuments were stoned at a Whitefeet funeral in 1832, more on the Whitefeet here - https://buff.ly/3afmqHI “
Terry Dunne on Twitter, now removed

I didn’t spot any sign of damage by stoning in 1832 but I did find one headstone that needs to be added to the list of Engraving Errors and Issues

Disaster Chasing

9/3/2026

St Michael's Cemetery, Blackrock

Yesterday, I went looking for one disaster – and found three.

Recently, I had read of an annual ceremony at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock to commemorate the Air India crash in 1985.

Initially, I was looking for a black headstone with white posts with greenery behind. When I eventually found it I realise I had walked past but as the white posts were on the grave behind, I missed it.

Interpolating the photograph from The Echo with the high point of the mono-pitch roof and the adjacent utility pole, I did manage to locate the grave of Annu and Reena Alexander but not before I encountered victims of the Buttevant Train Crash and the Tusker Rock Air Crash.

Welcome To the Future

8/3/2026

It is over twelve years since I did a blog post on the memorial that reads:

‘For Our Two Friends
Who Went To The Future
On The 15th April 2000’

Today, in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock, it was the expression that first caught my attention – ‘Welcome To the Future’.

I had spotted the family name of Feehily but when I saw that the first name was Dominic, the internal smile got so wide.

It is good to get a reminder that this is not a trial run and to get busy living…..

MALACKEY or MALACHY?

6/3/2026

ALSO HIS PARENTS MALACKEY & KATE DORAN

Dysartgallen on a rare sunny Spring afternoon was a very pleasant visit. I actually arrived somewhat in error.

The Wart Stone had made in onto my TO VISIT list some time ago – not realising that the well and rag tree that I spotted and photographed last August was actually the Wart Stone.

The online map brought me to the cemetery rather than the well which was passed on the way. One of the first headstones that I spotted last Tuesday was that to the Doran family – Patrick and his parents.

‘Malackey’ was a new spelling to me. ‘Malachy’ would have been the spelling that I would have encountered previously. Maybe I may have seen ‘Malachi’ but am fairly certain that this is the first time I have encountered a ‘Malackey’.

Both his marriage record and his death record have his name as ‘Malachy’ – not ‘Malackey’. On Patrick’s birth cert from 1890, his name is also ‘Malachy’ but instead of a signature, an ‘x’ is his amrk – possibly indicating he did not write and so may not have been overly concerned with my ‘Malackey’ ‘Malachy’ ramblings.

1939 – A Leap Year??

23/2/2026

St Gobnait's Cemetery, Mallow - 2026.02.12

The date did not register when I was strolling around St Gobnait’s Cemetery in Mallow two weeks ago. It surely did when I was looking through the photographs.

This headstone has now gone on my list of Engraving Issues/Corrections as Irish Genealogy has a copy of the death certificate which records the year of death as 1936 – the year of the Berlin Olympics and so a year that had a 29th February.

Mrs. Doyle

22/2/2026

St Patrick's Cemetery, Rathvilly - 2026.02.17

Some stone carving spellings are easier to spot than others

The Major Effect

21/2/2026

How many ’F’s are on the back of a box of Major?

Image from Ebay

Many years before the government health warnings and standardised tobacco branding with the graphic images, this was a question often asked. It was asked of me on the way home from school.

The vast majority of people answer ‘2’.

In two separate cemeteries over the past few weeks, I nearly missed a fewe stone carving spelling issues. Maybe I am getting less observant – I would have expected to spot these at a distance. Or maybe it is like the pack of Major and letters being close together get hiiden in plain sight.

MALLOW

ERECTED
ERECTRED

MAJOR

Virginia Filter Tipped
oF fine tobacco
of Fine Tobacco

ADARE

PRECEADED

PRECEDED
PREDECEASED

LIKEWISE

20/2/2026

I used to enjoy catching tweets from Póló from his mental health walks. Those walks stopped some years ago and I am no longer active there.

Yesterday I took some time for my own mental health walk – in St Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock. I could really have done with longer.

At the Collins grave, I did stop and ponder as to the meaning. I left a failure.

Why is LIKEWISE carved?

Who is Mother?

19/2/2026

A lovely little graveyard, Kilcooley was a stopping point on the road home yesterday.

I wanted to visit and photograph the Barker Memorial – a Pyramid. A damp afternoon but enjoyable.

Reading this headstone, three of the five standard questions remained unanswered:

WHO was Mother?
HOW/WHY is her name not carved?

Irish Genealogy did not provide a quick answer in 84 year olds who died in 1926 but deeper diving indicated that Andrew’s death cert records that he died in 1925 – not 1926 as per headstone .

The next name on the register is Maria, aged 87, who died 18th May, 1925 – Benjamin is recorded as being a son of both and present at the deaths.

Sometimes there is satisfaction in solving a puzzle – but two of the questions remain unanswered.

Saving Soles

18/2/2026

St. Patrick's Cemetery, Skibbereen

At lunchtime today, as regularly happens on my workdays in Carlow, Alan and I set off to the local shop for lunch. Entering the store, Alan threw out a comment which I am unsure would be understood by the younger generation – remember no meat today.

I think during the whole day, I only saw one person with a cross of ashes on their forehead – a lot less than my schooldays.

Eating the salad back at the desk, Alan was quick to tell the others that while we were out, he was saving my soul.

I was reminded of David Fahy’s grave in St Patrick’s Skibbereen whose grave adornment brought a smile and wondered which might be of more benefit to my redemption. Only doing this blog post, did I realise that I have become too old for Ash Wednesday.

“On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Roman Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59, whose health enables them to fast, are permitted to consume one full meal, along with two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. Some Catholics will go beyond the minimum obligations put forth by the Church and undertake a complete fast or a bread and water fast until sunset. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also days of abstinence from meat (mammals and fowl), as are all Fridays during Lent. “
Wikipedia

Remembering Those Without a Headstone

17/2/2026

St. Patrick's Cemetery, Rathvilly, Co. Carlow

Today was my first ever visit to Rathvilly.

I managed to tick 5 items off the TO VISIT list – Kevin Barry; Michael Fay; 1916 stone,; Eamon Byrne memorial; and a local grotto. With light fading, I only managed to steal a short visit to St. Patrick’s Cemetery where I spotted something I do not think I have seen before.

Rathvilly has a monument stone that records the names of those buried in the cemetery whose headstone no longer exists.

Their third and final death has been postponed.

Formerly on TO VISIT list

There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.

David Eagleman – Sum: Forty Tales From The Afterlives