What is recorded here

Death came quickly for Alexius Fitzgerald in 1694, leaving Dorothy behind to face the silence of Ballyconra. They rest together beneath a broad stone in the church's north-west corner, marked by ermine annulets and a honest prayer for peace. The dates and names remain sharp after centuries, proving that love and loss still hold weight in Kilkenny stone.

In the NW corner of the chancel of Ballyconra church (KK009-013001-) in an area used as a mortuary chapel. A graveslab (L 1.77m; Wth 0.9m) with an inscription in English in Roman capitals commemorating Alexius Fitzgerald (d. 1694) and his wife Dorothy. The slab is dated 1694 and bears a coat of arms beneath the inscription (Cockerham 2009, 362). The arms are described by Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 313) as, 'ermine, five annulets on a cross saltire; crest, a helmet; underneath is the insciption: HERE LAYETH THE BODY OF MR. ALEXIVS FITZGERALD WHO DYED THE 16TH OF MAY, 1694. REQVIESCAT IN PACE. AMEN. MRS. DOROTHEY FITZGERALD NEE LODGE'. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 9 May 2018

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