Celebrating our rich heritage
Lecture held in Kilcomin Graveyard, Shinrone
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Special guest Camin O’Brien, the well known archaeologist, is pictured with the Kilcomin graveyard group during the re-opening evening, which took place last week. Situated between Shinrone in Offaly and Cloughjordan in Tipperary, the graveyard, although on the border with Tipperary, is in Offaly but is in the Killaloe Diocese. It was recently cleaned up by volunteers and the group invited Mr O’Brien to talk about the history. From left: Tom Phelan, Camin O’Brien, Theresa Morkan and Medran Shelley standing at the gable of the old 15th century church.Image 2 of 2
The welcomed refreshments warmed up the body on the cold August evening last week when Ann Guidera, Theresa Morkan and Medran Shelley served them up for the large crowd that assembled in the beautiful old Kilcomin graveyard, which is loaded with history. Photos: Rose Mannion.Last Tuesday week, Caimin O'Brien, gave a very informative and interesting lecture in Kilcomin Graveyard, Shinrone, as part of Heritage Week on the history of this ancient site stretching back over the centuries.
The large attendance came from a wide area, including Dublin and Kerry, and were enthralled with the presentation, which included detailed drawings and colour maps of what the area would have looked like in ancient times and the people of the area.
Caimin explained in detail the inscriptions and symbols on some ancient tombstones, which to the casual observer were unreadable.
But thanks to his expert knowledge, the attendance now have an insight to our ancestors and what the symbols mean.
This was followed by a lively ‘Question & Answer’ session, which elicited some further discussion and, as always, Mr O’Brien had the details at hand.
The evening concluded with some welcome tea/coffee and a great array of homebaked goodies and it was a fitting end to a great event while some old friends had an enjoyable chat an departed with some fresh knowledge.
The event took place under strict Covid guidelines, and the graveyard committee are to be complimented on providing sprays/gels prior to entry.
Sincere thanks to Caimin O’Brien for giving his time, to the homebakers for their excellent fare an a special word of gratitude to the Armitage family for providing such splendid facilities to the graveyard committee.
Also thanks to the gardaí for traffic and safety measures on the evening.
It is now hoped to continue improvements in the graveyard under the newly-formed group.