How together in death? Placemaking and the dynamics of commemoration at Termonfeckin church and churchyard, Co. Louth, Ireland

Summary

Analysis of the church and graveyard memorials at Termonfeckin, Co. Louth reveals a complex web of identities within an overall community context of shared burial space. Each monument was commissioned independently by the family but in the context of what a local carver could produce and what was deemed appropriate and affordable in its community context. Families made a placemaking statement by erecting a memorial, defining the burial plot when most were not permanently marked. Issues of class, family and religion intersect in the memorials of the 19th century, with reduced explicit variability in the 20th century. The material characteristics of space, monument type, motifs, and materials combined with text commonalities and differences within the local community. The Irish rural graveyard was an active component in reinforcing aspects of community dynamics, and the patterns seen at Termonfeckin are still played out, albeit with localised variants, at many Irish rural graveyards.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow