Sir,—I read with great interest (HI 34.2, March/April 2026, pp 6–7) the excellent article by Helen Litton on the recent unveiling of the new headstone on the graves of Tom Clarke’s parents in Glasnevin Cemetery. At the end of the article, she says that all the graves of the executed 1916 leaders’ parents are now marked. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Both of James Connolly’s parents are buried in unmarked graves in Edinburgh. His mother, Mary, died in 1891 and his father, John, in 1900. Both are buried in common ground in North Merchiston Cemetery. James Connolly attended both funerals. The Connolly family are aware of this and several members of the family have visited the graves over the years.
Just six weeks after James Connolly’s execution by a British Army firing squad his brother John died. Like his parents, he was buried in North Merchiston Cemetery, but John was buried with full British military honours owing to his earlier service. John’s name is inscribed on a large stone military memorial in the cemetery. The monument, like them all, begs questions of remembering/forgetting, of inclusion/exclusion. Like a physical representation of the power relations underpinning Irish diasporic experience in Scotland, the well-maintained monument stands right next to the common ground, casting a shadow over the unmarked graves of the Connolly brothers’ parents, and many others.—Yours etc.,
JIM SLAVEN
James Connolly Society
Scotland