Tomb — effigial in Malahide Demesne

15th-century effigial tomb described in 1904 as; 'the tomb of "The Maid of Malahide,"' whose sorrows Gerald Griffin has immortalised in "The Joybells are ringing in fair Malahide." It is situated in the nave, and is railed round. I think that it is made of limestone. It has a shield on each side, supported by three angels in a circle. It is an altar-tomb, relieved only by a square moulding. On top, in high relief, is sculptured the fair Maud Plunkett. A horned cap adorns her head, which lies on a quaint pillow; her hands are folded praying, and she is clothed in a plain-looking dress with many folds, over a trailing skirt of similar appearance. Her feet rest on a cushion. The features are quite worn away, and the neck is much mutilated. The coats-of-arms are more modern. 'On the east end of the tomb is a shield bearing the emblems of the Crucifixion, viz. :—cross (forming the division line). On sinister side, pincers, ladder, scourge, and crown of thorns. On dexter side, three nails, seamless robe (remarkably like the Holy Coat of Treves) and spear. On West end, a heart pierced by two swords, hilts from base. On the north side, the shield bears a bendlet-couped meeting a pallet-couped. In dexter-chief is a castle. In sinister, nine little squares — I know not what to call them. On the south side, in dexter, a lion rampant ; in sinister chief, a castle, and a bend sinister couped' (Fowler 1906, 272-3). Effigial tomb of Maud Plunket described by Hunt (1974, 146-7) as follows; 'In the ruined fifteenth- or sixteenth-century church [DU012-031001-] in the grounds of Malahide castle is an altar tomb with the effigy of a woman on it, said to commemorate Maud Plunket, alias Hussey, afterwards Lady Talbot. She had as her first husband Sir Thomas Hussey, Baron of Galtrim, as her second Sir Richard Talbot, and as her third, John Cornewalsh, whose wife she was in 1445. Her first husband was killed in battle on the day of their marriage, so that she was 'maid, wife and widow in one day. Lord Walter FitzGerald has suggested that this tomb may be a cenotaph erected during her lifetime while she was married to Sir Richard Talbot. While closely following the technique and formula of the Meath School-to which this effigy belongs-the artist has allowed himself some slight departures from the model. The head-dress lacks the veil spreading over the cushion of the St Audoen's [DU018-317----] and Howth [DU015-029003-] tombs in the same county, and there are two cushions one over the other-with small tassels at the ends. The dress falls in a train to the right side, an unusual departure from the rigidly symmetrical disposition of these effigies. The feet rest on a tasseled cushion, instead of the usual dog. Around the margin of the mensa is a raised band which doubtless originally carried an inscription. The tomb-chest, instead of being decorated with niches as the others of the school are, has a circular reserve carved in each side and end; in these circles are shields, each upheld by two angels in long pleated robes, with a third angel at the top of the shield. The shield on the east end bears the arms of the Passion, while that on the west end bears two swords in saltire over a heart. The shield on the north side bears the Plunket and another (unidentifiable) coat of arms impaled, while that on the south side bears the Talbot and Plunket coat of arms impaled. The chest has affinities with the monument at New Abbey, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare [KD028-040002-]'. In the interior of the church ruins there is an altar tomb dedicated to Maud Plunkett (d. 1494) with a recumbent effigy of a female figure in a horned cap. The fashion elements date to c.1440 and it is suggested that the effigy was carved when Maud was married to her second husband Richard Talbot (Dunlevy 1999, 31). The tomb is surrounded by a decorative iron railing. To the western end both corners have been modified and consist of brick supports. The north-east corner is broken. Base decorated with Plunkett shields. Effigy set in thick slab (west end has been damaged and repaired). Vegetation had become established in north-corner of tomb. Significant lichen growth. Fowler, J. 1906 Malahide Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, Vol. VI, 1904-06, 272-3. Dublin See attached black and white photographs taken by Edwin Rae, from the Edwin Rae Collection courtesy of Trinity College Dublin, http://hdl.handle.net/2262/12047 Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 13 March 2023