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

At St Mary's parish church (KK019-026115-) in Kilkenny. A rectangular mural plaque, composed of fossiliferous limestone, dated to 1646 dedicated to William Shee and Maria Crispe. It is decorated with cartouche and bears an inscription. Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 96) recorded it as being in the nave of the church c. 1900. The heraldic shield depicts the Shee coat of arms impaling those of Crispe, with the motto 'VINCIT VERITAS' in false relief. Below the shield is an incised inscription in running hand transcribed by Carrigan (ibid.) as: D.O.M. Gulielmus Shee, Gasparis filius, generosus, vir Christiana pietate, probitate, prudentia, animi fortitudine conspicuus, publici boni studiosus, optimae prolis providus institutor, omnibus charus et utilis, aeternam et beatam a morte vitam sperans, sibi charissimae uxori Mariae Crispe, liberis ac posteris posuit 1646. Tu, aeternam eis requiem, viator, precare. The slab was moved from the former Monuments Room in the N transept, where it had been moved in the 1960s, to its current location at the S wall of the chancel in 2015. Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil Date of upload: 4 January 2023

William Shee and Maria Crispe are commemorated by a 1646 limestone wall monument in St Mary's parish church, Kilkenny; it features a cartouche and is an example of early 17th-century memorial art in Ireland.