GA-STNL-0137

Record Date: 
20 May 2024
Exact wording of epitaph: 

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE VERY REVD JAMES DALY FOR 54 YEARS WARDEN OF GALWAY BORN 12™ MARCH 1790 DIED 6th JANUARY 1864 ALSO OF JEMIMA DALY THE FAITHFUL AND BELOVED WIFE OF THE GOOD WARDEN BORN 29th JANUARY 1800 DIED 6th DECEMBER 1875 "Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away " C K 2ND Chapter 17 Verse Colossians (Exodus)

Grave location
County: 
Latitude: 
53.272629722222
Longitude: 
-9.0532
Additional details
References: 
For his marriage see The Galwav Weekly Advertiser. February 25th. (1826). "Marriage. At the church of St. Nicholas by the Rev. Daniel Foley, on Tuesday the 21st. instant, the Very Rev. James Daly, Warden of this town, to Jemima, eldest daughter of the late Thomas Browne Esq.". For his death see The Galwav Vindicator. January 9th. (1864). "Funeral of the late Very Rev. J. Daly, Warden of Galway." (An account of the funeral and a list of the 'notables' who attended). Bur. Reed. Vol. 2 (1864), "James Daly, Warden of Galway, abode Villa, buried January 9th 1864, aged 76 years". Fleetwood Berry (1912 B), 74 gives only part of the inscription. Warden James Daly was very much involved in the restoration of the church which took place in the late 1820's and early 1830's and there are several extensive newspaper accounts of the work proposed and the work carried out. See The Galway Weekly Advertiser. June 16th. (1827). "Church of St. Nicholas" "We rejoyce to learn, that there is again a prospect of this ediface being restored to a proper and becoming state of repair.... Mr Welland was requested to prepare a specification, prior to a Contractor being advertised for; and the very Rev. Warden Daly, in expressing his approbation of the particular plan, which had been thus adopted by the Committee, and subsequently by the Parishioners, has very generously given towards the erection of the work, a subscription of £200!!" The work was to include "a handsome light tower, surmounted by four minarets, or pinnacles, die whole appropriately ornamented with Gothic fret work, etc. and elevated to a height fully equal to the present misshapen superstructure." The Connaught Journal had been campaigning for some time for the removal "...from before the front of the venerable Church of St. Nicholas the old buildings, or rather the heaps of filth and rubbish, which at present obscure its fair proportions." (The Connaught Journal. December 12th. (1831)). The editor also expressed the hope that "There will not be we should hope, a second opinion on the subject of the requisition on Thursday next, particularly as the Central Committee have allocated nearly £300 for the removal of the nuisance and the surrounding of the church with iron railings." In a subsequent report in The Connaught Journal. April 23rd. (1827), Warden Daly "... consented to the removal of the garden wall, which the gentlemen resident in that neighbourhood have undertaken to do at their own expense." The Warden "expressed himself not at all opposed to the removal of the old buildings at some future period, although they produce him about £40 per year, but he thought the present moment not the most appropriate for the parish incurring additional expense, as he considered the levy on the books not for the modernizing of the steeple, a very heavy expense, and should not be made more burthensome or excessive on the parish." The restorations which the Warden oversaw were the subject of many conflicting opinions. In The Connauyht Journal. June 9th. (1836), dissatisfaction was expressed with the decision of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners "... only to repair and fit up for service the nave or (sifi.) great porch of the church, to the total exclusion of the three transepts or (sis.) cross isles, in which the great bulk of the parishioners are at present accommodated with pews etc..." A memorial was drawn up to be conveyed through the Archbishop of Tuam asking the Commissioners to vote more money for further work to be carried out in die coming year. The restoration continued until 1839 when it was re-opened, to much praise from The Galway Advertiser of August 10th. (1839). For information on Warden Daly's residence (Villa House) see The Galway Vindicator. January 9th. (1864). (Advertisement). "To be let, or the interest to be sold, For Six years, from the 25th March next, on such terms as may be agreed on Villa House and Demesne the Residence of the Late Very. Rev. Warden Daly..." (See Figure below). The Galwav Vindicator. February 18th. (1865), "The Villa - Captain Lambert We are glad to write that the Villa, the residence of the late lamented Warden Daly has been taken by Captain Lambert, who with his family, has arrived in Galway. We bid the gallant gendeman a cordial welcome to the "City of the Tribes". It is pleasant to see the circle of our resident gentry widening." For the death of his wife Jemima see The Galway Express. December 12th. (1874). (Long obituary). "The grave in which the remains of the very Rev. James Daly, the last of the Wardens of Galway, were laid just 10 years ago, were yesterday re-opened to allow those of his much beloved wife to be placed beside them; and though the funeral was strictly private, and the weather inclement, the attendance was large". "...Mrs Daly, of an ancient and highly respectable family in this county (the Brownes of Moyne), a help mate well worthy of the warden, devoted herself to the duties which in that capacity devolved upon her with a zeal that never relaxed, and discharged them with a fidelity that gained for her the regret and general respect." Bur. Reed. Vol. 2 (1874), "Jemima Daly, abode Benard (sic.. Bemarde ?), buried Dec. 11th 1874, aged 74". Note the difference between the year of death given on the stone and in the Bur. Reed.. Fleetwood Berry (1912 B), 74 gives only part of this inscription.
People commemorated: 
Surname: 
DALY
Notes: 

A R.S. with a bevelled edge. It is neatly Inc'd. and in good condition. It is situated next to No. 138 and within the same surround. The surround is enclosed with a railing which is stamped with the initials H.B., probably those of the blacksmith. The first two lines of the quotation are from "The Song of Soloman", Chapter 2, Verse 17. The second two lines are impossible to read and do not make much sense in their present form.