Grave Yard — An Gróbh

St. James church and graveyard in Dingle described by Cuppage (1986, 380-83, no. 1011) as follows; 'Situated on the E side of Main Street within the medieval walled town is the site of the 13th century parish church [KE043-224005-] (Cal Docs Ire, V, 297) which was appropriated to the Augustinian priory of St. Mary's Killagh, near Castlemaine. The church was probably refurbished or rebuilt in the 15th/16th century, reputedly under Spanish patronage (Smith 1756, 177). According to McKenna (1979, 48), Dingle was one of the chief embarkation points for the great medieval pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James at Compostela and it is probably no coincidence then that the church was dedicated to St. James. By 1756, only a small section of the church was kept in repair, the remainder having gone to ruin (Smith, 177). In the graveyard, S of the church, many carved fragments of medieval date have been re-used as gravemarkers. These include 3 large sandstone dripstones and sections of a weathered eaves coping. Also carved from sandstone is section of a moulded arch with 3 receding chamfers, which probably formed part of a round-headed doorway. A 2nd arch fragment has a broad chamfered arris. Near the SW corner of the graveyard is section of a door jamb of 2 chamfered orders. The fragment is carved from limestone and has 16th century punch dressing on the reveal. Other chamfered blocks probably also date to the same period. The present Church of Ireland church was built on the site in 1807 and there are no visible remains of any earlier structure'. Church and graveyard described by Dunne (2011, 13) as follows; 'The Church and Graveyard of St. James is situated on the east side of Main Street (previously Middle Street), and encompasses over 2 acres of ground. There are no relict above ground remains of the medieval church although some of the original masonry, including a number of chamfered quoins, were reused to build the current early 19th century edifice. In the course of this survey seventy two medieval architectural fragments have also been reused as grave markers and also to construct above ground tombs. Prior to this survey twelve were known. The architectural fragments are mostly of local sandstone and include several flags from the eaves coping that were used to throw off the water from the side walls as well as several water spouts or dripstones . The flags from the eaves coping were much sought after as grave markers as the cross shaped slots cut into them to direct the water off the church now appeared as ready carved crosses. Several fragments of window masonry were also recovered including mullions, tracery from possibly a cusped ogee head and a twin light sill built into a tomb. A number of the limestone architectural fragments are most likely later, dating to the 15th century. Access into the graveyard is via a pair of wrought iron gates that are set between a pair of square ashlar pillars in general good order. The gates themselves are in good repair and recently painted. No separate pedestrian stile is provided for, nor is there any space for it. The gravelled driveway rises upslope between the neighbouring pub gables, the southern one of which is emblazoned with a huge inappropriate and kitsch shamrock. The accessway extends outwards to maximum width generally corresponding to the width of the church. The church is eccentrically situated on level ground on the north side of the graveyard and more or less beside a high boundary wall. The graveyard extending for almost 2 acres slopes to the south where it can be steep in places but slopes more gently to the east. A raised stone fronted area, that had been until recently completely overgrown, runs parallel to the north or left side of the accessway. The graveyard is bounded along its northern limits by a high rubble stone wall that most likely corresponds to the line of the original medieval town wall. The east boundary consists of a very overgrown rubble built wall varying in height and much cast down, breached and tumbled here and there and damaged by mature trees. The southern boundary wall of rubble sandstone construction is also much overgrown and dilapidated in places due to mature trees and scrub. It varies in height from a reduced low. level of 0.6m to 1.6m maximum with evidence of soldier capping surviving here and there. The west boundary of the graveyard corresponds to the rear of the buildings on the east side of Main Street extending from Ashe’s Pub at the SW to the Dingle Pub at the NW beside the entrance gate. Most of the original rubble stone wall along this boundary has been removed in the recent past and there appears to some evidence of possible encroachment by modern development insensitive extensions to the rear of these buildings. A small section of in situ walling survives mid-way along the boundary otherwise and in general there is no separation between the graveyard and Ashes Pub and the Dingle Pub. There are thirty-eight (38) tombs with names and inscriptions on them. The majority of them are simple rectangular box forms while others are similar haunched types. Forty-two (42) unnamed tombs were recorded. There are a massive one hundred and thirty nine (139) exposed lintelled graves in St. James’s Graveyard in Dingle. Lintelled graves, as the name suggest, comprise earth dug graves often lined or revetted with rubble sandstone that were sometimes rendered and covered over with local sandstone lintels. There were forty-seven named headstones (HNs) recorded at St. James’s Graveyard, of which only twelve have formal associated grave settings. The earliest recorded dates are 1700, inscribed with the initials M.M while the 1747 headstone is in memory of Rev. N. Moriarty. The most recent date is 1947 in memory of John O’Flaherty. Seventeen rectangular grave slabs, GRVS, defining burial areas were recorded. Six of the slabs have legible inscriptions while two others are illegible. The remaining nine are either partially exposed or have no inscriptions and information is therefore masked and unknown. The earliest slab dates to 1716 in memory of B. Stilwell. The earliest slab is known as the FitzGerald slab (MGRVS3) and dates to 1504. This slab has been broken in two parts since at least 1911 when it was first published (Fitzgerald 1911). The uninscribed decorated medieval slab, MGRVS2, lies on a low overgrown rectangular tomb, beside LG59. The slab is divided into two fields with a swastika motif carved in relief on the west field and an interlace motif on the east field. A corner of the swastika end has disappeared since it was recorded by Bradley in 1984. The inscribed and decorated MGRVS4 slab from 1622, known as the Rice Slab, was completely concealed and difficult to find in the course of this survey. It is in a shattered state with vegetation including ivy and tri-corn leek growing through it. Furthermore, it is a very low lying slab near another broken named tomb, TN26, as well as TN24 and TWN 34, and underneath the boughs of a very large mature tree that effectively inhibited quality photography. The east end of the slab contains the Rice-Trant heraldic shield while an elaborate inscription extends across the entirety of the slab and around the shield. The fourth slab, MGRVS 1, is vertically set in the east gable of the Ventry-Mullins mausoleum /tomb, TN11. This slab dates to 1695 and is more or less entirely inscribed across its face apart from a small panel at its base. A tiny heart pierced with two arrows is also carved on the upper right hand side. Seventy two medieval architectural fragments were recorded in the course of this survey of which approximately sixty were previously unrecorded. The fragments are dispersed around the graveyard although there is a couple of concentrations at the southern limits of the graveyard. Several of the fragments are reused as individual gravemarkers, (AF2, 15,18 etc) others are reused within tombs (A