Wall monument in Gardens (kilkenny City By., St. Mary’s Par.)

At St Mary's parish church (KK019-026115-) in Kilkenny. An armorial plaque probably originally part of a chest tomb or possibly a stand alone mural plaque, dedicated to John Bryan c. 1607 set into the S wall of the 'Bryan vault' adjoining the E wall of the S transept of the church (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 96-7; Cockerham 2009, 353). The Bryan family 'vault' (in reality a mausoleum) probably modified part of the medieval Lady Chapel of St. Mary's in the 18th century. The slab, composed of fossiliferous limestone, consists of a shield charged with the arms of Bryan of Jenkinstown, impaling those of Walsh: crest, a swan bearing in its mouth a label with the words, VITA. VAPOR: beneath the shield is the motto, VIVANT IN AETERNVM. Underneath all may be read in false relief Latin black letter: INSIGNIA JOHANIS BRYN AL’ BRYAN ET MARGARETAE and the following inscription: HIC + JACET + JOHANES + BRYN + ALg + BRYAN + GENEROSUS + FILIUS + LODAVICI + QUI + OBIIT + 29 + AUGUSTI + A + D + 1607 + ET + MARGARETA + WALSHE + UXOR + EIg + QE + OBIIT + XIII + DIE + AUGUSTI + 1610.’. Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil Date of upload: 4 January 2023

John Bryan, c. 1607, is commemorated by an armorial plaque set into the south wall of St Mary's parish church, Kilkenny; it may have originally been part of a chest tomb or stand-alone mural monument. The plaque reflects early 17th-century funerary style and is significant as a local example of heraldic memorial art.