Maybe Not Lost Lost – Just Lost In Plain Sight
Those of you who drop by here regularly will be well aware of my appreciation of and interest in the work of the Cork Sculptor, Séamus Murphy. The book published by the Crawford Art Gallery continues to be a source for some detours on my various journeys to visit his headstones, statues or plaques that I have not yet photpgraphed and touched – touching of stonework, especially headstones, is very important. The book does not list any headstone in Clogheen or Shanrahan. It makes no reference to Edward Sackville-West. |
The date of death of 1965 suggested that the headstone of Edward Sackville-West would be easily found in the new part of the cemetery and it was. His Find-A-Grave biography does read of an interesting life.
That evening I met P.J. and his lady wife who were out for a stroll and advised that they understood that Edward was descended from the family that gave its name to Sackville Street – now O’Connell St. in Dublin. The referred me to a book by local historian Ed O’Riordan – Lonely Little God’s Acre on Shanrahan cemetery which has now been requested through the Inter-Library Loan.
On a Tuesday evening, outside Clogheen in County Tipperary, I was smiling broadly once the carver’s name was spotted. The headstone was admired, and touched.