On our way to Kells; Galtrim, County Meath

On this cool, October week, I'd like to take you back to summer and our Lughnasa week-end, when we decided to cycle to Kells and back within two days and then chill at home on holiday Monday. This was by far our most productive week-end in graveyard-visiting terms, and will be the object of a whole series of posts, starting with the small graveyard at Galtrim, South Meath, which we found by chance cycling a back-road and where we took a highly-deserved break.

Off a back-road to the South-East of Trim, the church was built in the 19th century and is surrounded by the usual old graveyard and its yew trees, and a cow was there to greet us in the next-door field. Typical though it looked at first sight, it also held a few unusual headstones.

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The Bruton brothers' headstone, erected in memory of their father, presents an original rendering of the traditional IHS pictogram. While the I and the S appear in simple capitals, the central h is more ornate, with a loop ending in a shamrock, and the letter C apparently dangling from it (and also ending in a shamrock). As the IHS pictogram is known to mean Jesus, I am guessing the C added to it must stand for Christ. The lichen on the stone hides them well, but a few more shamrocks are discreetly carved on either side of the "erected". This mix between symbols of Christianity and of Irish identity is typical of 19th century headstones, but I never saw another instance of shamrocks included directly within the IHS pictogram.

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This second headstone was so full of lichen I was unable to decipher a name or date on it, but it was, again, an example of a unique central piece (as far as I know). This important element of a stone is usually devoted to Christian symbols (the IHS pictogram, an Agnus Dei, representations of the crucifixion or of Mary...). But in this case the central medallion holds a flying swan, possibly a reference to the Children of Lir legend?

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The most striking grave in Galtrim - and possibly the most original I have seen so far - was that of the Tyrell family (the people buried there all died in the late 18th century). The main side looks very usual, with a record of names and dates of death, and an IHS pictogram encircled within a bursting sun. But on the other side of the stone (which is not usually adorned), an interesting face is sculpted in relief. It looks like it could be an infant, but no child is listed among the people buried under this stone (or maybe an angel, but it has no wings). The very simple face reminds me of the (rare) human representation in Celtic art, and the ruff made me think of the Commedia dell'Arte "Pierrot" character. It must also have represented important sculpting work to carve out a face in such relief.

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Our chance encounter with the graveyard at Galtrim thus provided the typical Irish atmosphere, along with originality and even mystery. The current church is of the 19th century, but the graveyard itself is clearly older, as attested by this vault (recently and not very discreetly restored). James Munford and his wife Margery King are buried there. No date is recorded regarding Margery, but James died in 1733 and the stone was erected by their son, so there is very little chance it could have been done after the 18th century ended.