The 170 year old man from Doneraile
Malakey McAuliffe lived to the ripe old age of 170 - or maybe an all too short 17 years. Or was he 70?
Malakey McAuliffe lived to the ripe old age of 170 - or maybe an all too short 17 years. Or was he 70?
In the 'old section' of Clonfert graveyard (in the SW corner) is a large group of 18th and 19th century headstones and burial monuments. One of them has a rare survival of the 'crown of thorns' - the crown of thorns is commonly seen on headstones further north in Ireland but I can think of only two examples in Cork, Limerick, Tipperary.
This rather unusual crucifixion scene is to be found on a small rectangular headstone located in St. Thomas' medieval graveyard in the parish of Peterswell Co. Galway.
A question often asked during graveyard surveys is ‘how much did a funeral cost in the past?’ - to which I’d often reply that we need to see a undertaker’s account books to get an answer. The first undertaker’s accounts I have seen were shown to me by C J Destelle-Roe of North Tipperary and that account book contained a lot of important clues to understanding early 20th century Templemore.
We will be providing training to community groups and individuals in Tang, Westmeath on the 27th, 28th, 29th March and 3rd, 4th, 5th April. The project is organised by Tang Muintir Community Council and funded by Westmeath Community Development.