The Huguenot Cemetery ( ga, Reilig na nÚgóineach, ) is a small cemetery dating from 1693 located near St. Stephen's Green,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

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 ...

, beside the

Shelbourne Hotel The Shelbourne Hotel is a historic hotel in Dublin, Ireland, situated in a landmark building on the north side of St Stephen's Green. Currently owned by Kennedy Wilson and operated by Marriott International, the hotel has 265 rooms in total an ...

. Although often described as being on the green, it is actually on the north side of Merrion Row, a small street linking St. Stephen's Green with Upper Merrion Street and Ely Place. Those buried there are descendants of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s who fled persecution in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

following the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

which had guaranteed religious freedom. They were encouraged to come to Ireland by James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, who had spent twelve years in exile in France, after the Irish and Royalist forces were defeated by those of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

. Ormonde's return to Ireland as Viceroy in 1662 coincided with the consolidation of power by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, which put extra pressure on the Huguenots in France. Ormonde had come into contact with Huguenots in Paris and Normandy, and hoped that their skills and capital could help stimulate the Irish economy and introduce new industries. The Huguenots quickly established a thriving community in Dublin and elsewhere in Ireland based on their skills in textiles, watchmaking and finance. Within a short time they had become an integral part of the commercial and civic life of Dublin. Huguenot families in Ireland included the naturalized names of Busse, Des Voeux, Chaigneau, D'Olier, Gardie, Delamain, Le Fanu, L'Estrange, Maturin, Saurin, Lefroy, Le Nauze, Perrin, Cromelin, Borough (derived from Bouhéreau) and La Touche. The last burial was in 1901. The cemetery is not open to visitors, though it is visible through the railings and a list of 239 surnames of those buried is inscribed on the wall plaque to the left. These include Becquett (relatives of Samuel Beckett) and Du Bédat.

References

External links

The cemetery is visible between the west end of Merrion Row and a point opposite a lane off Merrion RowPhoto of cemetery
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212023550/http://members.virtualtourist.com/vt/ps/c8cc9/0 , date=12 December 2017
Photo of cemeteryPhoto of plaque of surnames
Cemeteries in Dublin (city) Huguenot cemeteries Christianity in Dublin (city) 1693 establishments in Ireland St Stephen's Green