What is recorded here

Colonel John Talbot of Belgard likely sleeps beneath a fractured slab near the churchyard gate, his tomb displaced when the church changed hands. Talbot bears and motto still mark the stone, preserving his identity despite the move from the communion table. The displacement suggests a deliberate erasure, yet the gate placement keeps his name visible to everyone entering the sacred ground.

One of a number of 17th century tombs in the churchyard (DU021-037004-). FitzGerald states that the central passage up the old church was flagged with large tombstones, some of which, at the time of his writing, lay not far from the gateway of the churchyard (Fitzgerald 1906-08, 31). He states that 'the tomb of Colonel John Talbot, of Belgard is said to have been placed at the foot of the communion table' (ibid, 31-2). O'Curry states that it was moved from its position at the foot of the high alter in the church when the church was transferred from the Catholics to the Protestants (O'Curry 1837, 28). This was to be found on a flat fractured slab, sunk into the ground near the entrance gate, accompanied by the armorial bearings of the Talbots and their motto (FitzGerald 1906-08, 32).

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