Another in the Saints and Sinners series.
Bohermore graveyard in Galway, or the ‘new cemetery’ as it is called was opened in 1880. The cemetery contains two mortuary chapels – the western chapel was reserved for Catholic usage and the eastern one for Protestant use - and a caretaker’s lodge close to the entrance gates.
Famous Burials
The History of Galway City and County by Sean Spellissy lists some of the more famous and interesting people commemorated by grave memorials in Bohermore cemetery. The following are just three examples.
Lady Augusta Gregory
Lady Augusta Gregory was at the centre of the Irish literary revival and Coole House in south County Galway became a focal point for this group. Lady Gregory was a founder member of the Irish Literary Theatre Movement from which the abbey theatre company evolved. She wrote over thirty plays and many books on history and folklore. The Gregory vault in Kiltartan was ordered to be closed by Lady Gregory around 1927 when Coole House was sold to the land commission. On her death in 1932 Lady Augusta Gregory was buried in Bohermore cemetery.
Lord Haw Haw – William Joyce
The Internet Archive and the BBC Archive have some fabulously atmospheric recordings of Lord Haw Haw from his time as the main German broadcaster in English during the second world war. His radio shows were used by the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda to discourage and demoralise allied troops and the British population. William Joyce was executed in Wandsworth prison after the war but was re-buried in Bohermore cemetery in August 1976 at the request of his daughter. The family had strong connections with Galway and lived there between 1909 and 1921.
Pádraic Ó Conaire
Pádraic Ó Conaire is buried to the north west of the western mortuary chapel. A pioneer in the Irish Literary Revival in this century, Ó Conaire and Patrick Pearse are regarded as being the two most important Irish language short story writers during the first decades of the 20th century. He died in 1928 at the age of 46. He is best remembered today for his story entitled M’asal Beag Dubh. A much loved statue by Albert Power was erected in 1935 in Eyre Square and unveiled by Eamon de Valera. Generations of people have had a photograph taken sitting on its lap.