THE MONUMENT OF RICHARD J STOWELL AND HIS BROTHER ROBERT

Richard Joseph Stowell was sentenced to penal servitude. His weak frame broke down as a result of his prison treatment and he was released to die. His brother Robert Francis Stowell died on 14th January, 1873. “Erected By His Friends And Associates. To Perpetuate The Memory Of His Love Of Country, And His Death, Caused By A penal Imprisonment, Which Destroyed His Weak Frame. But Could Not Extinguish His ardent Aspirations For Ireland’s Freedom” “Here Also Are Interred The Remains Of Patrick O’Byrne, Dearly Beloved Uncle (Of The Stockwell Brothers) Died 1St March 1895, Aged 77 Years)” “Under This Cross Rest The Mortal remains Of Richard Stowell. Died 18th July 1855. Aged 44 Years. Also His Eldest Son, John Patrick Stowell Died 31st March 1869. Aged 25 Years & 10 Months. Grant Their Souls O Lord Eternal Rest. Amen.” “Here Also rest The Remains Of The Youngest Of The Patriot Brothers. Robert Francis Stowell. Who Died On The 14th January 1873. At Eden Quay Dublin. Aged 25 Years Faithfull And True To Ireland He Laboured And suffered Much In Her Cause. R.I.P.” “To The Memory Of Richard Joseph Stowell, Whose Name Was Enrolled On The Political Martyrology Of Ireland On 16th May 1867, In The Twenty Second Year Of His Age. Nine Hours After His Release From Naas Gaol His Pure Soul Passed From Earth To Heaven To Receive The Crown His Stainless Faith In Life And Heroic Fortitude In Death Had Won. R.I.P.”

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PHOTOGRAPHING OLD GRAVEYARDS CAN BE INTERESTING AND EDUCATIONAL [THIS TIME I USED A Sony SEL 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS LENS]

On the last day of August 2016 I visited Glasnevin Cemetery and took about 90 photographs using a Sony SEL 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS LENS. The completed collection is available at the Streets Of Dublin Site.

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A SQUIRREL IN A CEMETERY - VERY MUCH ALIVE

This photograph needs no explanation

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VIEW OF THE O’CONNELL TOWER - GLASNEVIN CEMETERY IN DUBLIN

The tower was built between 1855 and 1869 to commemorate the death of Daniel O’Connell, who established the cemetery in 1832. The iconic memorial was designed by George Petrie. The tower was closed to the public for about 40 years because the internal stairway was destroyed by a bomb in 1971. The attack was attributed to Loyalist paramilitaries and was carried out as a reprisal for the destruction of Nelson’s Pillar on O’Connell Street. In 1847 Daniel O’Connell died in Genoa on May 15h 1847. His dying wish was that his heart be buried in Rome and his body in Glasnevin cemetery. Daniel O’Connell was buried in the O’Connell Circle in Glasnevin cemetery on August 5th 1847. On May 14th 1869 the remains were exhumed and reinterred in a crypt beneath an Irish round tower.

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THE RIC PLOT IN GLASNEVIN [THE ROYAL IRISH CONSTABULARY]

Friday, August 24, 2012: “A number of retired police officers from the Republic and Northern Ireland intend gathering at Glasnevin Cemetery this coming Saturday at 2.30pm to commemorate the disbandment of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP)” The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the armed police force of the United Kingdom in Ireland from the early nineteenth century until 1922. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police forces, later had special divisions within the RIC. About seventy-five percent of the RIC were Roman Catholic and about twenty-five percent were of various Protestant denominations, the Catholics mainly constables and the Protestants officers. The RIC's successful system of policing influenced the armed Canadian North-West Mounted Police (predecessor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), the armed Victoria Police force in Australia, and the armed Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in Newfoundland. In consequence of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the RIC was disbanded in 1922 and was replaced by the Garda Síochána in the Irish Free State and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland.

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St. Marys Chapel of Ease universally known as 'The Black Church' [Dublin - Ireland]

Local lore says that if you walk anti clockwise around the church three times at midnight, you will summon the devil. The Black Church is mentioned briefly in the novel Ulysses by Irish author James Joyce, in the chapter entitled 'Oxen of the Sun', as the location of one of Bello's many sins: He went through a form of clandestine marriage with at least one woman in the shadow of the Black Church. Joyce lived for a few months only yards from the Church in Broadstone, at 44 Fontenoy Street, one of the Joyce family's many temporary homes around Dublin. He stayed there with his son Giorgio from July to September 1909 and again alone from October 1909 to June 1910 while trying to set up the first cinema in Dublin. It was the favorite Church of infamous English Poet Sir John Betjeman and the Dubliner Austin Clarke. Clarke mentions the local legend of ‘Old Nick’ appearing in his 1962 autobiography titled Twice Round the Black Church.

It would appear that a number of churches are making similar claims and there is therefore some confusion. It may also be the case that John Betjeman described many churches as being favourites using slightly different wording in each case. It may also be the case that he changed his opinion with the passing of time. For example according to archiseek in the case of Monkstown Church: "This was the poet John Betjeman’s favourite church (he preferred it to the Cathedral of Westminister and visited it while based in Dublin during the 1940s)". In the case of St. Marys part of their description is as follows: "Closed in 1962, and converted into offices, this was Sir John Betjeman’s favourite church in Dublin. Known locally as the Black Church, legend has it that if you run around it three times in an anti-clockwise direction at midnight, it will summon the devil – immortalised in an Austin Clarke poem". Note "Favourite Church In Dublin". Wikipedia and a number of tourist guides use the following phrase "It was the favorite Church of infamous English Poet Sir John Betjeman and the Dubliner Austin Clarke" when describing St.Marys [I am assuming a common source].

The Gresham Vault In Mount Jerome Cemetery - The Victorian Fear Of Being Buried Alive

Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium: If you do decide to visit Mount Jerome watch out for the Gresham Vault where the pedestal on top of the tapered walls at one stage supported a bell with a chain running from it into the vault. This was erected with the purpose of allowing the lady who was interred (and who had a fear of being buried alive) to ring the bell if she awoke. [ I wonder if anyone would have come if she had in fact rang the bell ] The fear of being buried alive peaked during the cholera epidemics of the 18th and 19th centuries but accounts of live burial have been recorded further back. When his tomb was reopened, the philosopher John Duns Scotus (1266 – 1308) was reportedly found outside his coffin with his hands torn and bloody after attempting to escape. The fears of being buried alive were heightened by reports of doctors and accounts in literature and the newspapers. As well as dealing with the subject in "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of Amontillado", Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Premature Burial", which was published in 1844. It contained accounts of supposedly genuine cases of premature burial as well as detailing the narrator's own (perceived) interment while still alive. The recovery of supposedly dead victims of cholera, as depicted in The Premature Burial by Antoine Wiertz, fuelled the demand for safety coffins. The general fear of premature burial led to the invention of many safety devices which could be incorporated into coffins. Most consisted of some type of device for communication to the outside world such as a cord attached to a bell that the interred person could ring should he revive after the burial. A safety coffin of this type appears in the 1979 film The First Great Train Robbery. Other variations on the bell included flags and pyrotechnics. Some designs included ladders, escape hatches, and even feeding tubes, but many forgot a method for providing air. The first recorded safety coffin was constructed on the orders of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick before his death in 1792. He had a window installed to allow light in, an air tube to provide a supply of fresh air, and instead of having the lid nailed down he had a lock fitted. In a special pocket of his shroud he had two keys, one for the coffin lid and a second for the tomb door.