What is recorded here

Athenry Church holds a missing graveslab that once lay broken in the nave, carrying PRAY FOR and the date 1686 on one fragment and SOVLE OF BRYN VAGH(an) on the other. Macalister wrote it down in 1913, but by October 2018 it had vanished from the place where it should have been. Perhaps the church kept its dead out of sight, or perhaps the stones were moved when the building changed. Either way, the slab is gone, leaving only a name and a prayer behind.

This graveslab was described by Macalister (1913, 215-17, No. XIX) as ‘a flat coffin-shaped slab, which has become broken in two: the pieces are misplaced. On one fragment is PRAY FOR, and the date, 1686; and on the other SOVLE OF BRYN VAGH(an)’. It was centrally located in the nave of the church (GA084-001014-). On inspection in October 2018 it could not be located. (Bradley and Dunne 1992, 40) Compiled by: Olive Alcock Date of upload: 12 November 2018

A 17th-century Christian graveslab; significant for its dated inscription and association with early modern funerary practices in Ireland.

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