Tombstone of Matthias O’Malley and Bridget McDonough
located next to the old chapel
The inscription at the base of this Celtic Cross is:
PRAY FOR THE SOUL
OF MATHIAS O’MALLEY
WHO DIED 29TH OF DEC
19*9 AGE 77 YEARS
ERECTED BY HIS WIFE
BRIDGET
RIP
Mathias O'Malley was born in 1839, 77 years later would be 1916. The 3rd digit in the date is not legible, it could have been a 0, 1 or another digit. Old Irish birth dates can.vary by several years. I have not been able to find a birth record of Mathias and Bridget but they do appear in the 1901 & 1911 Irish census. In the Cararroe parish Lier Defunctorum (Death Registry) which starts in 1920, (there are no early death records), I did not find a record of a death for Mathias or Bridget O’Malley. I'm assuming they were alive in 1911 but not after 1920.
road marker for Seanbhaile cemetery
Entrance to Seanbhaile cemetery. The top of the old Chapel is in the middle of the picture
View from back of Seanbhaile cemetery
Seanbhaile cemetery (aka Ballynakill cemetery) on Gorumna is on the road before the bridge leading to Lettermullin. There is a store on the lefthandside of the road, just before the store there is a road, mostly hidden. Driving on the road it seems at times you are driving in a field, but follow the path and it will lead to the entrance of the cemetery where my great grandparents Matthias O’Malley and Bridget McDonough (Maitiú Ó Maille agus Brid Nic Dhonnacha) were laid to rest.
It is a difficult site to find, but a very pretty venue overlooking Ballinakill Lough. There is another entrance with the Reilig a' t - Seanbhaile road marker, but I've never found it.
The coordinates from Google maps: 53.23699077985376, -9.699405314825032
