Roselawn Cemetery is a large cemetery and crematorium on the outskirts of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It opened in 1954. It is owned and operated by Belfast City Council. It is located on the Ballygowan Road.

History

Roselawn Cemetery was laid out in 1952 as a ‘lawn’ cemetery and the ground was formally consecrated in 1954. Roses ( traditional flowering shrubs, used extensively in cemeteries) were planted along the main driveway, giving the site its name. In 1961, the City of Belfast Crematorium, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, opened its doors, with the first cremation taking place in July 1961. Land has been added over the years, and the site has been landscaped with lakes to make it more appealing to visitors. The surface area has been estimated at a little less than 300 acres, which would make it the largest municipal cemetery in the United Kingdom. The cemetery contains the remains of an ancient ráth or

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

, which is believed to be from the Iron Age or early Christian period.

Notable interments

It has been estimated that there are between 43,000 and 44,000 memorial plaques. The site contains graves connected to the

Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed ...

, including those of police and prison officers, soldiers and victims of the Abercorn Restaurant,

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

and La Mon House Hotel bombings. *

Ian Adamson Ian Adamson OBE (28 June 1944 – 9 January 2019) was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and paediatrician, who was the Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1996 to 1997, having been Deputy Lord Mayor from 1994 to 1995. He additionally served as ...

, Northern Ireland politician *

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

professional football player *

May Blood, Baroness Blood May Blood, Baroness Blood, (26 May 1938 – 21 October 2022) was a British politician who was a member of the House of Lords, where she was a Labour peer and the first peeress from Northern Ireland from 31 July 1999 to 4 September 2018. Bloo ...

, British politician * George Cassidy, Northern Ireland jazz musicianhttps://www.funeraltimes.com/georgecassidy84673923 *

David Ervine David Ervine (21 July 1953 – 8 January 2007) was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist and politician who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2002 to 2007 and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for ...

, Northern Ireland Unionist politician and leader of the

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...

(PUP). *

B. J. Hogg William Henry Brian Hogg (30 April 195530 April 2020), better known by his stage name BJ Hogg, was a Northern Irish actor best known for playing Big Mervyn in the BBC sitcom ''Give My Head Peace''. He also played the title role in the Oscar-nomin ...

, actor *

James Kilfedder Sir James Alexander Kilfedder (16 July 1928 – 20 March 1995), usually known as Sir Jim Kilfedder, was a Northern Ireland, Northern Irish Unionism (Ireland), unionist politician. He was the last unionist to represent Belfast West (UK Parliamen ...

, Northern Ireland unionist politician * Helen Lewis, Czechoslovak-born Northern Ireland choreographer and Holocaust survivor ; Cremations *

Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough (9 June 1888 – 18 August 1973), styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet, between 1907 and 1952, and commonly referred to as Lord Brookeborough, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who s ...

, soldier and

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

(UUP) politician, third

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

. The ashes were scattered on his estate.

References

External links

*
Booklet by Belfast City Council about the cemeteries in and around Belfast
Cemeteries in Belfast Cemeteries in Northern Ireland Geography of Belfast {{Belfast-geo-stub