Palmerstown

Palmerstown Cemetery

Palmerstown Cemetery is located in relatively flat tillage fields. The road and local field boundaries curve around the south side of the site possibly indicated the presence of an earlier enclosure. A holy well is located in the field to the south of the graveyard.

Historical Context

The walled graveyard is circular in plan and contains the remains of a church dedicated to St. James which was a possession of the priory of St. John the Baptist, Dublin. The present boundary wall does not appear to date to an early period. A holy well known locally as St. James’s well is situated in a field to the south of the graveyard.

Archaeological and Architectural Features

The standing remains within the graveyard consist of the foundations of the east and west gable walls of a medieval church. The north and south walls survive to a height of c. 0.5m. It is constructed of coursed masonry with loose stone around the walls. There is a holy well in the neighbouring field.

General Description

Oval graveyard bounded by squared limestone wall with limestone coping, sections of which have been rebuilt. It is set in rolling countryside. The ground surface within the graveyard is considerably higher that the surrounding level.

The graveyard contains predominantly 20th century headstones with some 18th and 19th century markers and undecorated stone markers. There are burials located within the interior of the church. The later burials are located on lower ground to the north of the church. There are undecorated stone markers to the west of the church.

One of the earliest stones is dedicated to Peter Duff and is inscribed as follows "IHS This stone and burial place belongeth to Peter Duff and his posterity. Here lieth the body of Catherine Duff who departed this life May ye 17th in the 56th year of her age, 1774".