GOLDENBRIDGE CEMETERY
GOLDENBRIDGE CEMETERY [HAS RE-OPENED TO THE PUBLIC]
It is unlikely that any of you have visited this historic cemetery because it has been closed to the opening of new graves for close to 150 years and over that period there was a very limited number of new burials. My understanding was that the cemetery had been closed to visitors [except by appointment] since the 1900s.
I had a chat with a very helpful member of staff and he explained that the cemetery was very badly neglected and that a large number of graves had been vandalised but that the restoration staff had been able to restore the majority of them as the gravestones had not been shattered.
However, the anti-social activity has been serious and ongoing. For example I came across the following report dated March 16 2016: “Up to 13 gravestones were vandalised at a cemetery in Dublin in the last week, including that of W.T. Cosgrave. The Trust said. Cosgrave’s gravestone was previously destroyed in October 2014.” [ NOTE: W.T. Cosgrave served as president of the Executive Council of Irish Free State (the first Prime Minister of Ireland].
Another report dated August 14 2015: “Up to 27 monuments at the Goldenbridge cemetery in Dublin have been destroyed in recent days by vandals who knocked over headstones smashing some into pieces.”
Goldenbridge is a 19th century ‘garden’ cemetery. After the passing of the 'Act of Easement of Burial Bills' in 1824 a committee was established to administer the proposed cemetery. The cemetery was purchased in 1828 and the first burial took place on the 15th October of that year.
Last weekend it was reopened and family graves are now available if you wish to be buried there.
There are 4,250 graves in the cemetery of which 498 have been identified as available for purchase at this time. Goldenbridge cemetery has been designated by Glasnevin Trust as a conservation cemetery. In order to preserve the character and ambience of the cemetery, there are rules apply to the type of monument that can be placed on family graves.
From the time of the Reformation Catholics were not permitted to have any cemeteries of their own and buried their dead in the grounds of old churchyards and monasteries or in Protestant Churchyards. Legally Protestant clergy were the only ones permitted to recite funeral prayers but over time there was a growing compromise to allow Catholics have a very brief time for prayers at the graveside. However, when William Magee, an evangelist and steadfast opponent of Catholic Emancipation, became Archbishop of Dublin, all compromise was abandoned.
One particular incident marked a turning point and the start of a huge change for Catholics. In St. Kevin’s Churchyard in September 1823 Dr. Michael Blake Catholic Archdeacon of the Dublin diocese was about to offer some quiet graveside prayers when a Protestant sexton, who many believed was working on the orders of Archbishop Magee, stopped him.
The funeral was that of Arthur D’Arcy a well-known and respected Dublin citizen whose brother would later become Lord Mayor. He had died suddenly in an accident and his funeral understandably attracted a large crowd. The incident, witnessed by many, propelled the issue onto the public stage. This was probably the intention of those who had made the intervention but it had unintended consequences for Archbishop Magee and his supporters.
The debate that followed naturally involved Daniel O’Connell who was at the height of his powers and with the Catholic Association was pushing for greater Catholic rights. In a signature move O’Connell forced the issue and became determined to establish a cemetery that would be open to those of all religions and none.
A committee was formed to carry out the far from simple process of setting up a cemetery and in 1828 they managed to secure this land at Goldenbridge for a fee of £600. The consecration ceremony for Goldenbridge took place on 15 October 1829 and the first burial soon after. The following years proved very successful for the cemetery and demand resulted in a sister cemetery being opened at Glasnevin. In the 1860s the War Office moved to try and close the cemetery claiming it at first to be a public health risk, which was dismissed, and then by arguing that funeral traffic was a disruption to the adjoining barracks. There was a huge outcry and it took two years before it was finally agreed that Goldenbridge would remain open to burials for those who already had plots but would close to new burials. Burials have continued at a slower rate since then and today Goldenbridge holds the graves of many historically significant figures.
It is unlikely that any of you have visited this historic cemetery because it has been closed to the opening of new graves for close to 150 years and over that period there was a very limited number of new burials. My understanding was that the cemetery had been closed to visitors [except by appointment] since the 1900s.
I had a chat with a very helpful member of staff and he explained that the cemetery was very badly neglected and that a large number of graves had been vandalised but that the restoration staff had been able to restore the majority of them as the gravestones had not been shattered.
However, the anti-social activity has been serious and ongoing. For example I came across the following report dated March 16 2016: “Up to 13 gravestones were vandalised at a cemetery in Dublin in the last week, including that of W.T. Cosgrave. The Trust said. Cosgrave’s gravestone was previously destroyed in October 2014.” [ NOTE: W.T. Cosgrave served as president of the Executive Council of Irish Free State (the first Prime Minister of Ireland].
Another report dated August 14 2015: “Up to 27 monuments at the Goldenbridge cemetery in Dublin have been destroyed in recent days by vandals who knocked over headstones smashing some into pieces.”
Goldenbridge is a 19th century ‘garden’ cemetery. After the passing of the 'Act of Easement of Burial Bills' in 1824 a committee was established to administer the proposed cemetery. The cemetery was purchased in 1828 and the first burial took place on the 15th October of that year.
Last weekend it was reopened and family graves are now available if you wish to be buried there.
There are 4,250 graves in the cemetery of which 498 have been identified as available for purchase at this time. Goldenbridge cemetery has been designated by Glasnevin Trust as a conservation cemetery. In order to preserve the character and ambience of the cemetery, there are rules apply to the type of monument that can be placed on family graves.
From the time of the Reformation Catholics were not permitted to have any cemeteries of their own and buried their dead in the grounds of old churchyards and monasteries or in Protestant Churchyards. Legally Protestant clergy were the only ones permitted to recite funeral prayers but over time there was a growing compromise to allow Catholics have a very brief time for prayers at the graveside. However, when William Magee, an evangelist and steadfast opponent of Catholic Emancipation, became Archbishop of Dublin, all compromise was abandoned.
One particular incident marked a turning point and the start of a huge change for Catholics. In St. Kevin’s Churchyard in September 1823 Dr. Michael Blake Catholic Archdeacon of the Dublin diocese was about to offer some quiet graveside prayers when a Protestant sexton, who many believed was working on the orders of Archbishop Magee, stopped him.
The funeral was that of Arthur D’Arcy a well-known and respected Dublin citizen whose brother would later become Lord Mayor. He had died suddenly in an accident and his funeral understandably attracted a large crowd. The incident, witnessed by many, propelled the issue onto the public stage. This was probably the intention of those who had made the intervention but it had unintended consequences for Archbishop Magee and his supporters.
The debate that followed naturally involved Daniel O’Connell who was at the height of his powers and with the Catholic Association was pushing for greater Catholic rights. In a signature move O’Connell forced the issue and became determined to establish a cemetery that would be open to those of all religions and none.
A committee was formed to carry out the far from simple process of setting up a cemetery and in 1828 they managed to secure this land at Goldenbridge for a fee of £600. The consecration ceremony for Goldenbridge took place on 15 October 1829 and the first burial soon after. The following years proved very successful for the cemetery and demand resulted in a sister cemetery being opened at Glasnevin. In the 1860s the War Office moved to try and close the cemetery claiming it at first to be a public health risk, which was dismissed, and then by arguing that funeral traffic was a disruption to the adjoining barracks. There was a huge outcry and it took two years before it was finally agreed that Goldenbridge would remain open to burials for those who already had plots but would close to new burials. Burials have continued at a slower rate since then and today Goldenbridge holds the graves of many historically significant figures.
