Cobh Old Church Cemetery Records
TitleCobh Old Church Cemetery Records
ReferenceTC/CQ/CY
Date
1872-1985
Production date 1872 - 1885
Scope and ContentBurial and other administrative records of the cemetery at Old Church, Tay Road, Cobh, in the Civil Parish of Clonmel. Old Church Cemetery is also known and referred to as Clonmel Cemetery. No records present for cemetery at Carrignafoy or cemeteries outside of Cobh on Great Island.
The largest series of records for Old Church include three burial registers with location of graves and names of deceased persons, extant from 1879-1975 [TC/CQ/CY/A/1/1-3]. Information includes the date of death, and the place of birth of the deceased.
The remaining records are of research value for their administrative content and for more detailed family or local history research into the evolution of the cemetery at Old Church. The collection demonstrates three distinct sections to the graveyard: (1) the pre-1879 section located within the immediate vicinity of the church ruins; (2) the walled section due immediately west of the church opened 1879, and (3) the walled section to the north-west opened 1897. Collectively these three sections all relate to the one site at Old Church. Unusually, the land in the 1897 north-west section was located outside the Urban District Council's boundaries, and was co-managed with Cork Rural District (Cork Union). As a result of this, the north-westerly section has a separate burial register 1897-1985 [TC/CQ/CY/B/1]. This latter register does not contain grave locations. Grave locations are listed only within the burial books relating to the 1879 section to the west of the medieval graveyard [TC/CQ/CY/A/1].
The oldest part of the cemetery adjacent to the church ruins was closed in 1879. Burials records pre-1879 are not present in the collection, however, the council agreed to honour burials in the pre-1879 section on a case by case basis. Licences were issued only where sufficient remaining space in existing plots was present. The closure of the medieval part of the graveyard follows the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 and a tightening legislative environment for managing space in historic graveyards. As a result of the process the council kept a Register of Applications for Burial Licences, compiled in 1880. This volume contains names of persons with intention to bury within the medieval section of Old Church after it had closed to new burials in 1879. In support of their applications a very small number of entries contain notes on earlier burials, dating back to c.1840 [TC/CQ/CY/A/3].
The rules governing the cemetery include a small printed map of the sections opened in 1879 [TC/CQ/CY/A/4]. The rules of the cemetery include the price cost for burials, as well as practical information on the erection of headstones and the maintenance of the church grounds. The rules appear to relate solely to the 1879 or western section of the graveyard and do not include maps or information on the Rural District's section opened in 1897 or the medieval part of the church grounds.
[Reference: 'Clonmel (Old Church) Cemetery', Luke Cassidy, 1994. Includes a map of the entire graveyard. The 1879 section is labelled with sub-sections A, B, C, D. The 1897 section contains sub-sections labelled F, G, H, I. The medieval section with sub-sections: E, J-N, P, Q, and S. Only Sections A, B, C and D are referred to in the original cemetery records of Cobh Town Council.]
The largest series of records for Old Church include three burial registers with location of graves and names of deceased persons, extant from 1879-1975 [TC/CQ/CY/A/1/1-3]. Information includes the date of death, and the place of birth of the deceased.
The remaining records are of research value for their administrative content and for more detailed family or local history research into the evolution of the cemetery at Old Church. The collection demonstrates three distinct sections to the graveyard: (1) the pre-1879 section located within the immediate vicinity of the church ruins; (2) the walled section due immediately west of the church opened 1879, and (3) the walled section to the north-west opened 1897. Collectively these three sections all relate to the one site at Old Church. Unusually, the land in the 1897 north-west section was located outside the Urban District Council's boundaries, and was co-managed with Cork Rural District (Cork Union). As a result of this, the north-westerly section has a separate burial register 1897-1985 [TC/CQ/CY/B/1]. This latter register does not contain grave locations. Grave locations are listed only within the burial books relating to the 1879 section to the west of the medieval graveyard [TC/CQ/CY/A/1].
The oldest part of the cemetery adjacent to the church ruins was closed in 1879. Burials records pre-1879 are not present in the collection, however, the council agreed to honour burials in the pre-1879 section on a case by case basis. Licences were issued only where sufficient remaining space in existing plots was present. The closure of the medieval part of the graveyard follows the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 and a tightening legislative environment for managing space in historic graveyards. As a result of the process the council kept a Register of Applications for Burial Licences, compiled in 1880. This volume contains names of persons with intention to bury within the medieval section of Old Church after it had closed to new burials in 1879. In support of their applications a very small number of entries contain notes on earlier burials, dating back to c.1840 [TC/CQ/CY/A/3].
The rules governing the cemetery include a small printed map of the sections opened in 1879 [TC/CQ/CY/A/4]. The rules of the cemetery include the price cost for burials, as well as practical information on the erection of headstones and the maintenance of the church grounds. The rules appear to relate solely to the 1879 or western section of the graveyard and do not include maps or information on the Rural District's section opened in 1897 or the medieval part of the church grounds.
[Reference: 'Clonmel (Old Church) Cemetery', Luke Cassidy, 1994. Includes a map of the entire graveyard. The 1879 section is labelled with sub-sections A, B, C, D. The 1897 section contains sub-sections labelled F, G, H, I. The medieval section with sub-sections: E, J-N, P, Q, and S. Only Sections A, B, C and D are referred to in the original cemetery records of Cobh Town Council.]
Extent7 items
SubjectCemetery Records
AccessHard copies: Accessible to Readers by appointment. Access restrictions apply to some collections. Digital object/copy: see Download Media and/or Digital Reference
RightsLicensing information available on request by email to archivist@corkcity.ie Copyright Cork City and County Archives, Cork City Council, unless otherwise indicated. All Rights Reserved.
Levelsub-fonds
RepositoryCork City and County Archives