An tSean Reilig at Homefarm

Sean Reilig recording

A graveyard of significant interest

During the survey, Archaeologist John Tierney mentioned  An tSean Reilig is interesting for a number of reasons – perhaps most significant is the link to the old Gaelic Lordship of the O’Flaherty’s. While there was major social upheaval throughout the 1600s and the old order was largely replaced following the Confederate Wars, Cromwellian Resettlement and the Williamite wars, the O’Flaherty’s maintained a high social status as evident from the table tombs with family coat of arms, inside the church (date approx. 1750).

Stone cutting of rare quality in 1700’s Ireland

Another key headstone which is nationally significant is the 1741 stone for Griffon, carved by Patrick Howard, stonecutter. When looked at closely it is exceptionally beautiful and extremely well done and shows a sophistication of stone cutting which is rare for this period in Ireland.

We are finding coarsely inscribed occupation motifs at the bottom of some of the stones, likened to a poor man’s heraldry.  The majority represent ploughmen, also others such as blacksmith, shoemaker, herdsman, and boatman.  These reflect a vernacular community, where trade occupations were to the fore.

Most of the graveyard’s visible memorials appear to be quarried from the same limestone bedrock, many heavily fossilized and with natural fracturing akin to landscape along local ‘rocks road’ or by the shores of nearby Ballyquirke Lake.  Identification of Brachiopods, Colonial Coral and Crinoids in the headstones has inspired us to Follow our Fossils to further investigate the origin of the stone and its connection to the local limestone landscape of Moycullen, known as An Taobh Mín.

 

1.  Moycullen Heritage have secured funding from the Dept. of the Taoiseach, through the Loca Diaspora Engagement Fund, for a Graveyard and Historic Homestead project.  The Historic Graves project will cover the Sean Reilig in Homefarm, under the guidance of John Tierney of Eachtra Archaeological Projects.  The Historic Graves project is a community focused grassroots project.  Local community groups are trained in low-cost high-tech field survey of historic graveyards and recording of their own oral histories.  They build a multi-media online record of the historic graves in their own areas and unite to form a national resource.