Tomb

From O’Mahony, A. (1987, 17, No. 11) This tombstone (Limestone; rectangular with the bottom broken; L 1.8m; Wth 0.92m; T 0.2m) lies on the ground near the built-up south wall of the North Transept., There are three shields at the bottom end of the stone with the coats of arms of the Duff, Dormer and Roth families, and bearing the initials PD, MR, MD. The left side and the end of the stone are broken and the right side is cracked. The inscription is very worn. The first three lines stand together. They read: Hic iacet Pavlvs Dvff Mercator et hvivs oppidi vi vltimum - - - em clavsit then a space, and beneath - - - n (?) o 9o 0 d - - ini (?) stone worn. The following lines appear to be separated into inscriptions on either side of the upper arm of a central cross with fleur-de-lis ends. They are very indistinct. On the left side: -t vxores eivs Maria Roth –v - - obit 16 Aprilis (?) 1636 (?). On the right side: et Margari - - - Dormer - - - - obit 13 Aprilis 1638 (?) (Here lies Paul duff, merchant of this town, who ended his last day in the year of Our Lord (?) ... (and) his wives Maria Roth (who) died on the 16th of April (?) 1636 (?) and Margari(ta) Dormer (who) died on the 13th of April 1638.) Paul Duff was sovereign of New Ross in 1631. The stonemason appears to have omitted the word ‘superior’ between ‘et’ and ‘hvivs’. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 3 August, 2012

Chest tomb, medieval period. Its location near the North Transept suggests a ecclesiastical or monastic context, indicating local burial practices associated with religious sites.