St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 2 Table of Contents Freshford Graveyard Recording Group.................................................................................. 5 Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6 Names……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Graveyard Map…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 Foreword ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9 Acknowledgements................................................................................................................. 10 Introduction.....................................................................................................................,,,,,,, 11 St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Index – by Surname.................................................................. 22 St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Index – by Street / Townland / Town...................................... ..31 St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Index – Unmarked Memorials.................................................. .35 Record of Unmarked Burials....................................................................................................36 Memorials by Grave Reference Number............................................................................... .43 St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 3 St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Freshford Lots, Freshford, Co. Kilkenny Memorial Survey Compiled by Freshford Graveyard Recording Group 2013 – 2014 This project is an action of the Kilkenny Heritage Plan. It was supported by the Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council and Eachtra Archaeological Projects. It is part of the Historic Graves Programme, a community based grassroots heritage recording project. St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 4 Freshford Graveyard Recording Group Editorial Team: Tom Doheny , Michael Cormack ,Ned Kennedy, Dearbhala Ledwidge and Regina Fitzpatrick Map: John O’Shea Printed: Modern Printers Published by the Heritage Office, Kilkenny County Council in August 2104. © The contributors and the publishers. All rights reserved. The material in this publication is protected by copyright law. Except as may be permitted by law, no part of the material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, adapted, rented or lent without the written permission of the copyright owners. Applications for permissions should be addressed to the publishers. St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 5 This book is dedicated to the memory of all those buried in this graveyard St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 6 The names which appear largest in this illustration are those most commonly found in St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard. St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 7 St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 8 Foreword The Church of St. Lachtain is a place of great antiquity. It is renowned for its Romanesque doorway, its architecture and the continuity of worship since its foundation in the 7th century. Its adjacent graveyard, with its attendant memorials and headstones, is of significant social, cultural and archaeological interest. Historic graveyards link people to places. The headstone inscriptions give us a fascinating insight into the people who lived and died there, the craftsmen who carved the memorials, and life in the area. The St. Lachtain’s Church Conservation Plan (2004) commissioned by the Heritage Council identifies the insufficient knowledge and lack of interpretation of St. Lachtain’s and the need to put in place measures to address this. This graveyard recording project does just that. The project is the result of a huge voluntary community effort. This publication, an invaluable genealogical resource for future generations, is a testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of the Freshford Graveyard Recording Group. It has been a pleasure to work with and support the group. I hope that this publication and the accompanying on-line resources are read, referenced and enjoyed by people in Freshford, in County Kilkenny, and beyond for many years to come. Dearbhala Ledwidge Heritage Officer Kilkenny County Council St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 9 Acknowledgements The Freshford Graveyard Recording Group – Michael Cormack, Sheila Dooley, Moira Dorgan, Eva Holmes, Ned Kennedy, Paul Leahy, Michael Maher, Paddy Moriarty and Teddy Ryan. Special mention goes to Tom Doheny who compiled the inscription list and indices for the book and to John O’Shea for his beautifully prepared and easy to read map. Eachtra Archaeological, Jacinta Kiely, John Tierney & Maurizio Toscano. Jim Hayes and his staff at Community Employment Office Freshford. Philip Beubry Area Engineer Castlecomer, Kilkenny County Council and his staff. Liam Gannon and Noel Bolger, Housing, Kilkenny County Council. The Very Rev Katharine Poulton, Dean of Ossory & the Rev Tim Irvine St Lachtain’s Church of Ireland. Brendan Tynan Principal St Lachtain’s N.S. & Secretary Martina Hayes. Terry Campion Photographer (photograph of Freshford Graveyard Recording Group). Fr Pat Comerford P.P Freshford & Mary Minogue parish secretary. Kilkenny Archaeology Society, Rothe House (Headstones Inscriptions recorded by Margaret M Phelan & Madge Buggy 1970) Michael Cormack project photographs Survey carried out under the auspices of Cannon Seamus Henry (R.I.P.) Freshford by 3rd level students 1993/4. (Summer Work Scheme). Gemma Fullam for the use of her drawing of the Shrine of St. Lachtain's Arm Dearbhala Ledwidge, Heritage Officer Kilkenny County Council & staff. Regina Fitzpatrick, Consultant Historian. Thanks and well done to all. St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 10 Introduction St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard, Freshford Lots, Freshford, Co. Kilkenny By Ned Kennedy In a rare display of humour, Ossory historian Canon Carrigan referred to Freshford Old Graveyard as "thickly tenanted". Unfortunately, residency for these tenants was of a more permanent nature than the usual contract. He referred only to four monuments, so the people of Freshford are indebted to the volunteers who conducted the recent survey of the graveyard with the help of Kilkenny County Council Heritage Section and the Historic Graves Project. Freshford is situated on the banks of the Nuenna river which flows through the heart of the village. The river name is the Anglicised spelling of An Uaithne which means Green River. The moss growing on the riverbed still bestows a pleasant green hue to the flowing water as it did when inspiring its name, perhaps fifteen hundred years ago. Around 400 A.D. the first settlers came from Munster in search of new lands. At the time north Kilkenny was known as Mágh Airgid Rois, the Plain of the Silver Birch. The invaders came from Muskerry in West Cork led by Cucraí, son of Duach. Having come so far into Ossory, they stopped on the banks of An Uaithne and broke new or fresh ground amongst the Silver Birches, which was called simply, but meaningfully, Achadh Úr or Freshfield. Unfortunately the descendants of our Norman conquerors later mistranslated this as Freshford because the Irish word Achadh, meaning field, sounded like the Irish word Áth, meaning ford. Thus we got our present day place name. Evidence of the original settlement location was presented by the modern day phenomenon of an aerial photograph taken by the Ordnance Survey. When experts viewed the photograph they saw that the last remaining sections of the inner and outer enclosures of the early Christian settlement were still clearly visible near the church site. When the photograph was studied, an imaginary line was drawn from the section of ditch, still visible to the experts, in an arc from Prince's Bridge to Old Bridge Street to show us the dimensions of the settlement around the church grounds. The existence of both inner and outer enclosures is regarded as evidence of a high-prestige site. The chief buildings and sacred or St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 11 ritual features were located within the inner enclosure while the more mundane activities were contained within the outer enclosure. By now most of the inner enclosure, has been replaced by block walls but the remnant of the outer enclosure is today the northern boundary of the local national school separating the Scoil Lachtaín site from the houses on Kilkenny Street. The presence here of the plant "Alexander", which is associated with medieval sites, means that Freshford may be one of the few "living relics" of an early monastic site. The invaders, in need of more land, continued their conquest eastwards through north Kilkenny. Leaving Achadh Úr, they cheekily called the next townsland Bánta na Maoinigh, the Fields or Plains of the Munstermen. They continued their conquest eastwards and renamed the territory, known today as Three Castles, between Achadh Úr and and Cill Chainnigh, as Bán Ua nDuach, the Plain of Duach, in honour of their patriarch in Cork. Miraculously it has retained its grand old Irish name to this day. St Lachtain’s Old Graveyard Memorial Survey Page 12 A large settlement grew in Achadh Úr coinciding with the spread of Christianity in Ireland. Our patron saint Lachtain arrived late in the 6th century. He was born around the year 550 in west Cork, son of Toirbín and Senecha. He studied at Bangor in Co. Down under St. Comhghall. After ordination he came to preach God's word amongst his kinsmen or cousins in Ossory. He founded a church here which acquired importance because Lachtain is referred to as Bishop in some annals and