Ballyhuskard graveyard – a hidden treasure!
“Erected By Laurence Redmond In Memory Of His Father
Patrick Redmond And Mother Margaret Alias Sinnott
Depd This Life Jan 19, 1819
He Aged 79 & She 72 Years
Married We Were Upon A Day And Departed Upon Another.
Buried We Were In Native Clay In Both One Day Together.
Fifty Years And Two We Lived In Marriage State
Reader Pray For You Must See Death’s Certain Fate. ”
Important 1798 graveyard
In the heart of rural Wexford not far from Glenbrien village lies the long forgotten but important 1798 graveyard of Ballyhuskard. Fr Nicholas Sinnott PP of Oulart in ’98 (1798 Rebellion) is there. It was he who rang the bell in Oulart to rouse the people and tell them the country was up! His brother Thomas lies beside him under a separate but similar tablestone. Tom led the flanking attack across the Slaney from Blackstoops a half mile or more above the old bridge of Enniscorthy which threatened the loyalists with being attacked from behind and therefore forced the immediate evacuation of Enniscorthy town. Listen to a oral recording on the Battle of Oulart Hill
Recording Gravestones
A local group where onsite in April 2015 to clear away some of the briars, clean up the graveyard and record the headstones. Brian Cleary recorded all the gravestones with Aidan Quirke photographing each. There are some really beautiful examples including below dating from 1765.
Ballyhuskard gravestone showing showing the story of the Crucifixion. The helmeted soldiers with spear to Christ’s side and the one with the sponge of vinegar and gall. This is the best preserved design in the graveyard and apparently carved by what Brian J Cantwell, called ‘the Byrne School’ of monument sculptors.
Another reads
“Erected By Laurence Redmond In Memory Of His Father
Patrick Redmond And Mother Margaret Alias Sinnott
Depd This Life Jan 19, 1819
He Aged 79 & She 72 Years
Married We Were Upon A Day And Departed Upon Another.
Buried We Were In Native Clay In Both One Day Together.
Fifty Years And Two We Lived In Marriage State
Reader Pray For You Must See Death’s Certain Fate. ”
Fantastic Community Work
With the help of local FAS workers and volunteers (young and old!) a lot of work was carried out to cleanup the graveyard and clear back briers and other growth. Special thanks to Fas Supervisor in Glenbrien, Anna May Hodnett of Kilmallock, and her staff who did Trojan work on the day. Jimmy Adams and son James who have done great work around Oulart hill trails were also on site.
Other Details on Ballyhuskard
“Located on a gentle E-facing slope with a N-S stream c. 90m to the E. The parish church of Ballyhuskard (WX026-017001-) is within a rectangular graveyard (dims. c. 70m E-W; c. 35m N-S) defined by earthen banks, and the bullaun stone (WX026-017003-) is in the SW part of the graveyard. ”
Google Map of Ballyhuskard graveyard.
St Peter’s Well
Close by is the long forgotten St. Peter’s well (WX026-018)
“Situated in a shallow valley on the NE bank of a NW-SE stream. St. Peter’s Well, where patterns were held on the 29th of June until c. 1810 according to John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 (O’Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 99) is now a small pond created by a small dam in the steam. There is no evidence of veneration. ”
