Bodenstown Graveyard ( ga, Reilig Bhaile Uí Bhuadáin) is a cemetery located in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. Containing a ruined medieval church, it is best known as the burial place of the Irish patriot

Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone ( ga, Bhulbh Teón; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members in Belfast and Dublin of the United Irishmen, a republican socie ...

(1763–1798).

History

The stone church dates to before 1352, in which year it belonged to Great Connell Priory, and measures by . It was described as being in good condition in 1612 but was ruined by the 19th century; all that remains are the west

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

and north and south walls. Tone was buried next to his father at Bodenstown following his death in 1798. Semi-official commemorations are believed to have begun in the 1840s. In " Tone's Grave", Thomas Davis describes his visit there . Pilgrimages to Wolfe Tone's graveside were first held in 1873, the 75th anniversary of his death. After gaps in the 1880s, they resumed in 1891, and have been held every year since, except in 1906–10 and 1921. The ceremony, involving a march from Sallins railway station to the graveyard, took place on the Sunday closest to Tone's birthday, 20 June. Since 1922 there have been rival parades on different June Sundays due to schisms within

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develo ...

. The tomb was restored in 1971. There is one British

Commonwealth war grave The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...

of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, of Private Walter Duffy of the

Leinster Regiment The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of F ...

, who died on 7 July 1918.

Notable burials

* Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763–1798) *Private W. J. Duffy of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment, died 7 July 1918

References

{{Reflist Cemeteries in County Kildare Religion in County Kildare