Maudlin's Cemetery is a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

cemetery located in

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is notable for its two large

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

-shaped mausoleums, and as the burial place of much of the local aristocracy.

History

The name is archaically spelled ''Maudlings''; derives from

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, often depicted in art as mourning for Jesus after his crucifixion, and thus associated with burial grounds (cf. ''wikt:maudlin, maudlin''). At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries (c. 1540), Great Connell Priory was noted as possessing seven acres near to "the Maudelein of Naas." By 1606 the lands at Maudlings belonged to the chantry priests of St. David's Church, Naas. The cemetery dates to a 1780 donation by John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo; it was enclosed in 1782, although the oldest surviving inscription is from 1828. The west pyramid was built in honour of Anne de Burgh, wife of Walter Hussey Burgh, while the east pyramid is unmarked but believed to belong to another member of the De Burgh family.http://www.hidden-gems.eu/Naas%20maudlins%20cemetery.pdf The cemetery was expanded in 1889. The ''Journal of the Co. Kildare Archaeological Society'' recorded in 1895 that grave-robbing took place at Maudlin's, with the body of Moorehead, former governor of Naas Gaol, being one of the victims. The two pyramids were restored in 2020 with €65,000 from the Follies Trust.

Notable burials

*Earls of Mayo **Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo *the Earl of Clonmell, Earls of Clonmell ** *the De Burghs of Oldtown **Hubert de Burgh (cricketer), Hubert de Burgh (1879–1960) **Eric de Burgh, general *the De Robecks of Gowran Grange. *Alexander Taylor (1746–1828), cartographer

Gallery

File:CF Blacker Grave in Maudlin's Cemetery, Naas.jpg, Grave of Lieut. C. F. Blacker, died of wounds received at the Battle of Mons, 1914 File:A Grave in Maudlin's Cemetery, Naas.jpg, Gravestone of the De Robecks File:De Burgh plot, Naas Maudlin.jpg, De Burgh plot

References

External links

Maudlin's Cemetery at historicgraves.com
* {{Authority control Cemeteries in County Kildare Religion in County Kildare Naas 1782 establishments in Ireland