School: Acontagh, Tullamore
- Location:
- Acantha, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: Muriel Rogan
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0804, Page 129
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- XML “The Old Graveyards”
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- The Old Graveyards.
There is a very old graveyard which surrounds the old Church of Durrow, and is situated in the grounds of Durrow Abbey. This graveyard is surrounded by a wall and has a gate leading into it.
In the graveyard, opposite the church door, stands a beautiful stone cross. Thsi cross is supposed to be over a thousand years old. It is about eight feet high, and on the sides are carved pictures which represent well known Bible stories, e.g. Cain killing Abel, Abraham offering up Isaac, etc. There is a cross similar to this at Clonmacnoise. There are three vaults in the graveyard. Each vault is surrounded by a high wall. In each vault is a large stone box with a heavy movable slab on top.
Before the present family lived in Durrow Abbey it was owned by a man named Hubert Stephney. For some reason, he would not be allowed to be buried inside the graveyard, so a special vault was built for him- joining the graveyard.
It is entered from the graveyard, by an(continues on next page)
