Gravestone near the Saint's Grave, Ardmore
Saint Declan's grave, Ardmore, Co. Waterford, is potentially the oldest known extant Christian grave in Ireland. A site of pilgrimage since the Early Medieval period it is now enclosed in a small stone building originally built as a 9th century shrine chapel (An Beannacháin). The attractions of burial close to the saint's grave has resulted in a subgroup of post-medieval gravestones adjacent to the Beannacháin currently being studied by local archaeologists Martha Hannon and John Tierney. Using sidelit flash photography we are examining the inscriptions, the iconography and ornamentation on the gravestones. This group of stones reveal the higher status Catholic families of the parish throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
The photographic exhibition will be hosted here for Heritage Week 2026.
