Arthur's (Guinness) Way and Oughterard Cemetery, Co. Kildare, a tomb with a view.

Very soon after moving to Ireland, I learnt that Arthur Guinness (founder in the 18th century of the famous Guinness brewery and brand) had important links to North-East County Kildare, where I live. There is apparently a debate as to whether he was born in Ardclough or in Celbridge, and his very first brewery was set up in Leixlip. All three towns are very close to each other, with about 13km separating Ardclough from Leixlip, and Celbridge in the middle. Of course the potential for attracting Dublin tourists to these towns was identified, and the Arthur's way was created for both cyclists and pedestrians to discover the area. It makes for a picturesque cycle with its churches, big house, canal way, and graveyard! If you're ever around and want to walk or cycle it, you can find information here: https://intokildare.ie/listings/arthurs-way/ Starting from where Arthur's very first brewery was set in Leixlip, the Way crosses Celbridge, where he grew up and first started brewing, and - most importantly for me - it ends at Oughterard Graveyard, where he is buried.

This is a place I plan to visit again so I can spend more time observing and photographing every single grave it holds. We went there with our friend Andy (some of the pictures featured here are his) because the lock-down was making us all very inactive and he wanted to cycle the Way. To be honest, I knew from the signs that there was an Arthur's Way, but I hadn't even looked it up and when we left on our bikes I had no idea we would end up in a graveyard. After a short but intense final series of upwards slopes, we came to an extremely frustrating crossroads where we could only turn left or right, while the slope down was in the private field accross, not on the road. But the Arthur's Way sign telling us to turn right was also giving us crucial information: it read "Oughterard Cemetery". Of course! It made perfect sense that a Way crossing the towns where Arthur grew up and became the most famous Irish beer-maker would end up where he was buried! This gave me my smile and motivation back - and caused Cédric to give me an anxious side-glance (were we going to spend all day visiting the graveyard?)

We did not, that's why I plan to go again, but we still had a pretty amazing time. We were a bit worried when we reached the gates at the bottom of the hill, because they were closed except for a small pedestrian side-entrance, so we were wondering what to do with our bikes. That's when the owner of the house next to the entrance came out to tell us we could leave them in the garden - a very generous offer, that garden must have seen hundreds of bikes! Once the gate is crossed, you are not quite in the graveyard yet, you still have to walk about 200m uphill (again!) to reach the real entrance. You can get in through the main gate, or through a small stairway in the wall. I am no expert but I think this small stairway thing might be typically Irish, I never saw that anywhere else and already saw it at four different places here in Ireland.

The name of the graveyard - Oughterard - comes from the Irish phrase Uachtar Árd, which translates as "a high place". The series of upward slopes we had just cycled and walked confirm this as an apt name. They were also definitely worth it. When you get on top of the hill and within the walls, the view is wonderful, but it gets even better! (wait for it). Although it looks very neatly kept (perhaps a bit too neatly to my taste) with its short grass, freshly cut bushes, and blooming elderflower, the graveyard is very old and does not seem to have been used much recently. The original nunnery was established there in the 7th century, and the adjoining round tower dates back to the 8th century. They got partly burnt down during the Viking invasion in the 10th century and the current ruined church most probably dates back to the mid-14th century, while only a fews meters of the original round tower are left. The graveyard is very old, and mostly holds scattered stones that no longer even look like slabs, and the remainind headstones are extremely weathered down. But it certainly holds treasures I was not able to spot in the short time we spent there.

In this picture taken by Andy, I was hiding in a hole in the ground and trying to be a scary zombie. The failure is obviously due to my bright jumper and has nothing to do with my acting talents, so I don't get why Cédric is laughing at me. More seriously, the rest of this picture sums it all up: the scattered stones, the weathered slabs, the clean-cut bush, the ruined church, and you can even spot some of the elderflowers to the right. Looking at this, I am realising one of the headstones looks much more recent than the rest, I'll have to investigate when I go back.

Of course, the major reason why Arthur's Way led us there is Arthur's grave. To find it, you have to come inside the church (through the opening visible in the picture above) and look to the right. Up in the wall, a tall slab commemorates Arthur Guinness as well as his wife, Olivia. It is important because it tells us that Arthur was 78 when he died in January 1803, which means he was born either in 1724, or in January 1725 (there is a controversy as to his exact date of birth). The slab also mentions a Richard Guinness of Leixlip and his wife. I haven't been able to identify him, so I guess he might be a lesser-known grand-child of Arthur's.

I haven't found confirmation of this either, but the brown stains at the bottom of the slab make me suspect some people might have a habit of pouring Guinness stout on Arthur's grave.

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But as I mentioned at the start, there was more to see than we were expecting. Ever an adventurer, Cédric started looking around the old church and coming up the side stairs. It turns out you can actually climb onto the roof, and the view from up there - both of the graveyard and of the surrounding countryside - is absolutely impregnable!

Cédric didn't know about Irish round towers, and was very impressed by the height of the door!

These views reveal two more recent marble headstones, a beautiful high cross, and so many slabs I did not take time to decipher. It is also striking how few trees the graveyard has - my experience of Ireland has gotten me used to a much higher concentration of graveyard trees.

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The unplanned and short character of our visit made it a bit frustrating, but I got the lads to admit Irish graveyards are indeed fascinating, and I will happily take that beautiful cycle again for a longer visit. We decided to take a different way back to Celbridge, and that is when I noticed the "Bodenstown" sign on one of the houses we passed. Bodenstown is probably the single most famous cemetery outside Dublin and of course I knew about the burial place of Theobald Wolfe Tone - leader of Ireland's first republican rebellion in 1798. But I had no idea it was so close to where I live. Then we knew where our next cycle would take us!