The grave of Santa Claus

Jerpoint, county Kilkenny contains the grave of St Nicolas Of Myra, otherwise known as Santa Claus. The saint died in the 3rd century and when his grave was threatened by Muslim occupation of Myra during the crusades, it was taken to Italy. To further ensure its safety, it was brought to County Kilkenny as Ireland was then at the edge of the world and relatively free of conflict at the time. It soon became one of many places of pilgrimage in Ireland.

Plaque on Church wall, Mallow, County Cork.

The inscription reads as follows:On 5th May 1799 the United Irishmen of Mallow and sympathizers in the Royal Meath Militia proposed to take over the town by razing St Anne's Church while the militia officers and congregation were attending divine service therein. The event was aborted when Fr Thomas Barry P.P.  and others discovered the plans and acquainted the local military authorities of them.For their parts in the affair Fr.Barry was given a government pension for life. Corporal Peter Reily of the militia was hanged at The Gallows Green, Cork on 16th May, 1799 and the United Irish Leader Walter Baker(an Anglican) was hanged near here on 17th May, 1799. 

Roscommon Jail

The above building was built as a jail in Roscommon town in the early half of the 19th century. It was from here that Lady Betty operated as a hang woman. Her tale is a good one and I wrote about her in Fadó Tales of Lesser Known Irish history. However, she may have never existed, but it makes for a good yarn to tell the tourists.The building was later a mental asylum and is today a shopping centre.

Irish Civil War monument Dublin

The following monument was erected outside the old graveyard in Killester, Dublin. It commemorates an IRA man, shot by Free State troops during the Civil War.
I found more information on the murder on the irishmedals.org site:

On the 22nd of September 1922 the body of Anti-Treaty Volunteer Michael Neville, a native of Lisdoonvarna County Clare, was found in a disused graveyard in Killester County Dublin. He was a member of the Dublin City Brigade and had been killed while in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D.) of the Civic Guard in Oriel House. The C.I.D. were better known as the Oriel House Gang. Three men entered Mooney’s Public House Eden Quay Dublin and abducted the barman Michael Nevill aged 23. Mooney’s body was found the next day in a disused graveyard in Killester . Witnesses told the inquest that three men had entered the public house and ‘arrested’ Nevill, witnesses for the Civic Guard told the inquest that no one connected with the Civic Guard had anything to do with the shooting and Nevill was not arrested by them. Doctor G. Meldon told the inquest he found a number of bullet wounds on the victim including lacerations to the lungs, liver and brain and the victim also had a fractured skull, death was due to shock and haemorrhage.

Webley Bull Dog revolver

Introduced in 1872, it was popular among undercover agents as it's extremely short barrel (only 2.5 inches) made it easy to conceal. It is said that the IRA found one on Thomas Morris (see Gone the Way of Truth, page 208) before they executed him in Kinvara in 1921.

Graves of Irish Writers

"The End" by Ray Bateson. A very small but extremely well researched book. A handy size means it can be easily be carried about. Unfortunately, as it is self-published, it is not readily available in shops. A must for anyone interested in the final resting places if Irish writers.

Old Gravestone, North County Dublin

I stumbled across this gravestone recently. The winged children's heads are known as cherubs and are common on 18th century graves. This example was found in the old churchyard at Lusk, County Dublin.