Ladychapel is ‘an architectural gem dating from 1863’ at a crossroads I pass regularly. It is a popular location for weddings and I never suspected it had any historical interest. Old Irish churches are named after their founder, rarely Mary or Our Lady.
On a side road there is also a sign for Ladychapel Cemetery but I expected it also to be of recent origin. It was only when I saw an article about it in a local history that I thought I had missed something.
It is estimated that the cemetery site has a history stretching back over 2000 years. A stone-lined Holy Well there indicates a pre-Christian past. Nearby is the 8th century monastic settlement of St Tua (Ultan the Silent) at Taghadoe. Tua died in 770 and up to the twelfth century Taghadoe continued as a medieval parish in the diocese of Glendalough.
With the suppression of monasteries under Henry VIIIs the Catholic community lost its church and gathered at the ancient ruins in (what is now) Ladychapel Cemetery.
In the 1850s with the restoration of Catholic rights, the Duke of Leinster gave permission for the present church to be built (but not for burials there).
A plaque there states, “This monument was erected by the parishioners of Lady’s Chapel in grateful remembrance of Mr John Dillon of Carton, Steward of the Duke of Leinster at whose sole expense this handsome church was built for the accommodation of the parishioners. Dedicated June 1863. May he Rest in Peace”.
The cemetery is still used by locals, continuing its long and tangled history. Two mass graves there recall the Irish ‘rebellions’ of 1642 and 1798.
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