"A Munificent Benefactor to Religion": John Donegan, Dublin Jeweller, 1862

This pedestal tomb, which stands over the grave of John Donegan, speaks not only to his eminence as a Dublin jeweller, but also to the clout he bore as the official jeweller to the Catholic clergy of Dublin.   Donegan was a devout Catholic, and it was to him that the Catholic clergy went to have chalices and other accoutrements fashioned for their practice.  Also, to each priest assigned to go to a foreign mission, John Donegan gave a silver chalice, a paten (a plate used during the sacrament of the Eucharist), and a silver case within which they would carry holy oils.  As his stone attests he was indeed, "A Munificent Benefactor to Religion".

The stone reads:

Pray For

The Repose Of The Soul Of

John Donegan

Dame Street

A Munificent Benefactor to Religion 

Who Departed This Life

The 18th of November

1862

Aged 68 years

RIP

Reference:

Heritage Council, Death & Design in Victorian Glasnevin, 2000, Publications Grant Scheme.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.  All Rights Reserved.
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In memory of his dearly beloved children...

The stone reads:

Erected by

R.J. Murphy J.P.

Wood Park Glenageary

In Memory Of

His Dearly Beloved Children

Nora

Died May 21 1887, Aged 11 months

Elsie

Died May 24 1887, Aged 2 years

Teddie

Died May 24 1887, Aged 3 1/2 years

Richard James

Born & Died Feb 2, 1874

Thy will be done.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.

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In the midst of the metropolis, a Huguenot burial ground

Along the walk between St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, it is sometimes easy to miss this Huguenot burial ground tucked in between the buildings. Founded in 1693 by the French Huguenot non-conformist churches of Dublin, this cemetery is a small but important one. The large stone marker in the last photograph bears the names of over 200 Huguenot families whose members were interred in these grounds.

If you are interested in Huguenot interments, you may wish to visit my post: The Huguenot Communal Plot: 1713-1830: Mount Jerome Cemetery

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All photographs Copyright©irisheyesjg2012. All Rights Reserved.

New year, new look for 'Over thy dead body': A Cemetery Blog

With the new year comes a new look for 'Over thy dead body': The Cemetery Blog.  You'll notice that the forest green background has been replaced by an 'In Memoriam' easel which stands at the foot of a grave in the Prospect Cemetery at Glasnevin, Dublin, and the overall colour theme has changed.  I've chosen to use the easel image as my new background because the posts on this blog serve as a memorial of sorts for those whose graves are featured within.  Over the next while I will be making further changes to the blog, such as creating additional pages, and moving elements around.  Today I've included the W.H. Auden poem 'Funeral Blues' which I presented in the very first post on this blog.  I hope you enjoy reading the poem, and I hope you'll let me know what you think of the new background.

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

©W.H. Auden 1936