By Brian Casey
The Penal Laws placed restrictions on the burial of Catholics and Dissenters in Ireland and they could only be buried in graveyards attached to an Anglican church, being charged extra for this. Daniel O’Connell remarked that this was an element of anti-Catholic discrimination that needed to be confronted. He wanted to establish a non-denominational cemetery in Dublin, but the suppression of the Catholic Association in 1825 meant that his efforts were halted, although only for a short period. The Dublin Cemeteries Committee emerged from this, and they oversaw the opening of Goldenbridge Cemetery in 1829 and of Prospect Cemetery, later renamed Glasnevin Cemetery, in 1833. They became part of O’Connell’s vision for the dignified burial of people, irrespective of race, creed or ability to pay.
Prior to this, there were three graveyards for Catholics in Dublin—St James’s, Bully’s Acre and St Kevin’s. Goldenbridge Cemetery became the first non-denominational cemetery in Ireland since the Reformation. The Carlow Morning Post, reporting on its consecration in October 1829, remarked that the site had been well selected. One of the most striking features of the cemetery, the newspaper said, was the fact that its layout meant that the occupants of each grave could be readily identified. The first burial in Goldenbridge was that of Margaret Lowry of Watling Street, who was buried on 5 October 1829. Also buried that day was Revd Laurence Sylvester Whelan, curate of Saint James’s. They were the first of 12,000 buried over the following two years.
When you arrive at Goldenbridge Cemetery, you are greeted by the letters ‘D.O.M.’—Deo Optimo Maximo (‘To God the Best, the Greatest’)—over the entrance gate. Goldenbridge Cemetery is dominated by a large central monument. It was designed as a neo-classical mortuary chapel and opened in 1835. There were vaults constructed underneath it for Cuban bloodhounds to prevent body-snatching, and high walls were built around the ground to reassure families that the Dublin Cemeteries Committee were doing what they could to reduce the risk of this crime. In the early years of its existence, a bell rang when a body arrived for burial. The minute-books of the Dublin Cemeteries Committee discuss the establishment of the cemetery, the construction of walls and the laying out of the cemetery for the ease of locating graves into the future.
In the 1860s there were complaints from the Richmond Barracks next door about the noise that mourners were making at funerals, with accusations of drunkenness frequently made and seen as disruptive to harmony in the barracks. From 2017, new burials commenced—the first in over 150 years. In addition, the restoration works within Goldenbridge are continuing to ensure that the stories and lives of all those buried there are preserved for future generations.
Thousands of people from across Dublin are buried in Goldenbridge, as well as a number of notable figures, including W.T. and Liam Cosgrave, who made important contributions to political life in Ireland respectively as president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State and as taoiseach; Frank Burke, a member of the Irish Volunteers who died in the South Dublin Union; and Eugene Lynch, one of the 40 children killed in the 1916 Rising.
The final resting-place for many, Goldenbridge Cemetery is now an oasis of calm and peace in Inchicore.
Brian Casey is Archives Manager, Dublin Cemetries Trust, Glasnevin.