SAINT OTTERANS CHURCH AND CEMETERY

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SAINT OTTERANS CHURCH AND CEMETERY [WATERFORD]

As there was much activity when I arrived I decided that it was not appropriate to photograph this cemetery in greater detail, maybe I will visit again next year.

St Otteran is variously described as a son or a companion or a predecessor of St Columba on the island of Iona, where there is a graveyard in his honour, the “Reilg Odhráin”. He is also the principal patron of the diocese of Waterford, having been chosen for that honour by the Vikings. They had buried some of their dead on Iona and were the first occupiers of Waterford city.

St. Otteran's Burial Ground, also known as Ballinaneeshagh Burial Ground, is operated by Waterford City & County Council. It was in use from the early 19th century but only enclosed and laid out in 1877. There were a number of burials prior to the attempt to provide a plan for the burial ground. There is no register for these earlier burials. The first 426 plots on the burial register were left blank in the hope that the 'Burial Board' could fill in the details later but this never occurred.

The first record from the burial register dates to 12th September 1862 and Waterford City and County Archive holds the original burial registers from 1862 until 1966 but there are some gaps. Unfortunately, burials did not always strictly adhere to the plan of burial plots laid out so further investigation may be required when searching for a plot found in the register.

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