Hello and welcome to the surface of the underworld!

 

This blog is devoted to my visits of Irish places of the dead - big or small, old or new. I am a French Ph.D candidate in Irish History and I work on public funerals organised by the "Fenian" republicans in the 19th century. These funerals were used as cultural gateways into Irish popular feelings and politics. However, this is not a research blog. My research stemmed partly from my enjoyment of Irish graveyards and working on it developed my fascination for the Irish culture of death and memory more generally.

 

For a few years I have come to Ireland regularly and visited Glasnevin cemetery (Dublin) every time, as well as smaller Dublin graveyards, or Milltown cemetery in Belfast (where this backgound picture was taken). I now teach at Maynooth University, and after moving to Ireland in September 2019, I started taking my partner on more or less successful adventures looking for Fenian graves in different parts of the country. Since the Covid-19 lock-down we have taken to visiting more close-by places with no specific Fenian links.

 

I will post every Wednesday about one of the graveyards I visited or about a specific grave. Some of the posts will relate to my research, but the main point of the blog is to share my passion for Irish graveyards and my fascination for Irish ways of remembering. Unless specified otherwise, all photos were taken by myself or my partner during our visits.

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From September 2020, posts will be shorter and weeks will alternate between postss related to my research and posts about my visits.

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You can find me on Twitter:  @ChloLacoste3