Dublin Ireland Glasnevin Cemetary

Glasnevin is a very large cemetery between the airport and Dublin city center. It is easily accessible from several entrances, although we found the main entrance easy to find with plenty of parking. Be aware that this is still an active cemetery, and at any point during the day, funerals may be occurring, so talk quietly and watch where you walk. There were two separate funerals going on the time we were there.

Orientation can be difficult once in the cemetery, as it covers many acres. The best way I found was to orient to the tall round tower (O'Connell Tower) by the main entrance. You can pretty much see it from anywhere in the cemetery.

There are also guided tours of the grounds. The walking tour lasts 1.5 hours and tours the graves of Daniel O'Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Eamon DeValera, James Larkin, Maud Gonne MacBride, Countess Markievicz, Ann Devlin, Brendan Behan, Michael Collins, and many other graves of interest. The tours take place every Wednesday and Friday at 2.30pm. All enquiries and bookings can be made by email or telephoning the cemetery at: (01) 8301133.

The grounds are extensive, with many trees and a wide variety of stones, monuments, crosses, and sculptures. Our group of three split up and agreed to meet back at a specific time to avoid looking for each other. I covered about a quarter of the grounds in the 2 or more hours we were there. As I was walking among the graves, there were many photo opportunities of ancient headstones covered in ivy. As I was walking through one section, I observed a man digging. Evidently the graves are primarily dug by hand. This would account for the Gravedigger's Pub nearby to quench the thirst of the diggers and mourners. While we never found the pub during this trip, it is said that quite a few mourners stopped there prior to a funeral and quenched their grief to the extent that the coffin remained outside the pub forgotten and the burial had to be rescheduled for a following day.

There are other strange goings on as well. Our son Josh swore that a black cat was following him through the graves. Every time he stopped to take a picture, it would appear and stare at him. This is probably not a place I would like to spend the night, but it is very interesting to visit due to the history and beauty. We would have stayed longer, but a heavy downpour forced us back to the car. Imagine that in Ireland?!

There is a map of the more popular graves at http://www.glasnevin-cemetery.ie/html/map_of_the_ceme.html

Glasnevin Cemetery is easily accessed from Dublin City Center. Bus nos. 13A, 19, and 19A can be taken from the city's thoroughfare, O'Connell Street, to Harts Corner (which is approximately a 5-minute walk from the cemetery's main entrance on the Finglas Road). Bus nos. 134 (from Corn Exchange Street) and 40, 40A, 40B, and 40C (from Parnell Street) stop directly outside of the main cemetery entrance.