What is recorded here

Thomas FitzGerald died in 1630, but Mary Bourke refused to let forgetting take him. She commissioned a heavy chest tomb where Death itself sits beside a small cadaver, forcing every visitor to acknowledge the end before leaving. The FitzGerald and Bourke coats of arms still clash on the side panels, preserving a marriage that outlived the men who fought it.

17th century Fitzgerald/Bourke tomb at Kilmallock described in the Urban Survey of County Limerick as following (Bradley et. al. 1989, 160-1); 'Large tomb chest and mensa with ornamented side panels standing against the east wall of the north aisle. The mensa has a small cadaver and a figure of Death while the side panels are decorated with coats of arms of the FitzGeralds and FitzHaryes and an inscription: THOMAS FITZ/ GERALD/ ESQVIER/ DIED 1630/ MS IOANE FITZGEA/ RALD ALS BOV/ RKE RELICT/ BV/ ILT THIS MONVMENT/ COMES VIRTVTIS INVIDIA Roe 1969, 16-7'. Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 27 September 2019

Chest tomb, 17th century. Associated with the Fitzgerald/Bourke family, it represents a period of ecclesiastical and aristocratic funerary practice in Ireland.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.