Limerick Data

Following the 1830’s cholera epidemics and the Great Famine in the 1840’s new burial grounds were needed in Limerick. Mount St Lawrence Cemetery was officially opened on 29 March 1849 in a ceremony presided over by Dr John Ryan, Bishop of Limerick.

Mount St Lawrence graveyard was the primary place of burial in Limerick City for all strata of society since its opening in 1849 from the wealthy and influential to those who died in the Lunatic Asylum and the workhouse. An extension to Mount St Lawrence was opened in 1960 and a new burial ground, Mount St Oliver, was opened in 1978.

The burial records begin in March 1855. Few burials seem to have taken place in the early years possibly because people were reluctant to bury the deceased so far from the existing city graveyards. The Burial Register now records that over 70,000 individuals have been interred in Mount St Lawrence between 1855 and 2009. However, the actual number is believed to be much higher.


Source see attachment.

• Killalee Graveyard (Garryowen)
• St Patrick’s Graveyard (Singland)
• St Michael’s Graveyard (Watergate)
• Killeely Graveyard (Thomondgate)

Bicycle wrote: »

There's a lot of Limerick data, easily accessed here including electoral registers, obituaries, heads of households of the 1901 census etc.

Excellent site.

http://www.limerick.ie/library/localstudies/[/QUOTE]


I Agree but the data seems to be for
Limerick City only. Any good sources for the county available?
Ta
David

Coolnabacky1873 wrote: »

If the relevant C of I register exist then it is worth consulting them for 'Papist' burials.

1832 Cholera Epidemic (Extract)

In the summer of 1849, the Limerick Chronicle published an account of two boys, who were bringing ten corpses every day to Killalee graveyard and, as they were unable to bury these, the dogs were devouring the bodies. Some of the animals were killed by their owners, while others were seen taking large pieces of human flesh across the country'. But the poor starving dogs were not the only culprits.

The same newspaper records that 'Constable Nash arrested, in the Irishtown, a woman named Mary Touhy in the act of selling 1 cwt. of human bones which she had removed from the burial ground of Killalee, outside Clare Street. The miscreant had also a quantity of shrouding and caps worn by the dead'. We do not know the penalty paid by this wretched woman, but we do know that she was not the only human exploiter of the ancient burial place.

The Church of Ireland Rector of St. Patrick's was quick to seize his chance of cashing in on the unprecedented demand for the consecrated earth, for he increased the burial fee ~ from one shilling to two schillings!

Brennans Row wrote: »

He gave me the impression that the Church of Ireland administered that particular Roman Catholic graveyard.

Was this arrangement typical for that era?

Chapter 8 Grave Records and Inscriptions
In Ireland it is important to note that Catholics and Protestants were often buried in one graveyard. So the older Church of Ireland can be a source for some Catholic families.

The legibility of the headstones can vary especially as some stones weather easily. Time, weather and tree roots may all have taken their toll on the stones. In order to read old inscriptions chalk or clumps of wet grass rubbed along the lines are all that is required.

• Baptismal / Birth Records - 660,368 Records
• Marriage Records - 310,222 Records
• Burial / Death Records - 179,669 Records
• Census Records - 151,516 Records
• Griffith’s Valuation Records - 34,842 Records

The Irish Ancestry Research Centre (IARC) is a leading provider of research, education and training in History of Family and Irish ancestry. The centre also provides digitisation services for local and national repositories with a particular focus on genealogical sources. It is based on the campus of the University of Limerick.

The IARC team of researchers and education professionals is available to you at our walk-in centre in the Tierney Building in Limerick, Ireland. Alternatively browse our services online, and complete our research request form online for genealogical research assistance. As a UL campus company, IARC is a not-for-profit organisation, established in 2011.

ZombieBride wrote: »

The transcriptions for 1850s Mount St Lawrence Cemetery with obituary links are here:

pinkypinky wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that the John Joyce mentioned in that Cecil St article is my great-great grandfather's brother.

Why is Griffith’s Valuation important for Irish Genealogy?

The focus of the Griffith’s Valuation was taxation, not family or demographic information, and any genealogical or local historical information it supplies is purely incidental. So why is it of such importance for Irish research?

The simple reason is the destruction of The Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922. The Office had been part of the Four Courts complex for more than five decades when, on April 13th 1922, forces opposed to the Treaty with Britain occupied the entire compound. The occupation aimed to be a direct challenge to the authority of the Provisional Government by paralysing the centre of legal administration for the entire island. It continued for more than two months as both sides struggled to avoid direct confrontation.

The time was put to good use by the occupying forces in organising their logistics. In particular, for their munitions dump they chose the most heavily built and therefore the safest part of the complex, the strong room of the Public Record Office.

On June 28th, under intense pressure from the British government, the Provisional Government began an assault. After two days of shelling, a number of huge explosions destroyed the Public Record Office. Fires started as a result of the shelling had ignited the stored munitions and the destructive force of the blasts had been magnified by confinement within the reinforced walls of the strong room. A giant mushroom cloud rose over the city. Everything in the strong room was destroyed.

The returns from 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1891 had already been destroyed by official order, so the biggest loss was the 19th-century census returns of 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851. If these had survived, Griffith’s would be a footnote in most research; as things stand it is the only comprehensive, or near- comprehensive, account of where people lived in mid-nineteenth century Ireland. It covers over a million dwellings, and nearly 20 million acres, recording around 80% of the population. Because the Valuation was published (and has long been out of copyright) it is by far the most widely available record used for Irish research.

Ask about Ireland - John Grenham

Brennans Row wrote: »

One of my favourite maps is a 1840 reconstruction done by RIA because its great on detail.


Below a 1840 RIA map extract of the numerous lanes (like Hunts Lane) that don't exist any more.

Brennans Row wrote: »

Hi BW, that particular 1840 map is not online as far as I know.

I bought the “Irish Historic Towns Atlas No. 21 Limerick” two years ago and it contains a book, printed maps and drawings of the city, plus the same again in pdf format on a CD-ROM.

There is an OSI public viewer which is freely available.

They have modern and historic maps online.