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THE LEICA Q3 PERFORMED WELL TODAY
* In The Year 2008 * In The Year 2011 * In The Year 2017 * Henrietta Back In 2010
My mother, after a hip operation, spent a few weeks in Clontarf Hospital and as all family members were overseas at the time I had the responsibility to visit her every day but I was unaware of St John The Baptist Cemetery around the corner from where my mother was even though I had explored the area in great detail - I actually walked by the cemetery but thought that it was an entrance to Clontarf Castle. About three years ago a friend of mine suggested that I should photograph the cemetery where Maureen Potter was buried but I ended up photographing a different graveyard known as the Kilbarrack Burial Site and I will also discuss that location below and I plan to photograph it again in August
St John The Baptist Cemetery, Clontarf: History, Heritage, and Castle Connections
Tucked away along Castle Avenue behind a grand Tudor-arched gateway, the historic ruined church and graveyard of St John the Baptist offers a quiet window into the multi-layered history of Clontarf. While thousands pass by daily on their way towards the sea or Clontarf Castle, this sacred enclosure holds centuries of coastal Dublin’s history within its ivy-draped limestone walls.
Early Origins and Monastic History
The history of the site stretches back well over a millennium. Long before the present ruined church was constructed, a monastic settlement was established here around 550 AD by St Comgall and his followers. For centuries, St Comgall was revered as the original patron saint of Clontarf.
Following the Anglo-Norman arrivals in the 12th century, King Henry II granted the lands of Clontarf to the monastic military order of the Knights Templar. When the Templars were suppressed in 1312, control passed to the Knights Hospitaller (the Knights of St John of Jerusalem). It was under their guardianship that the dedication of the parish shifted from St Comgall to St John the Baptist—a moniker the parish retains to this day.
Around 1609, a new Protestant parish church was erected on the foundations of the earlier medieval buildings. This structure served as the primary Church of Ireland place of worship for Clontarf for over 250 years. It was in this very church that Dracula author Bram Stoker was baptised in December 1847. By 1866, the growing parish population necessitated a larger building, leading to the construction of the present St John the Baptist Church on Seafield Road West, after which the old building fell into peaceful ruin.
The cemetery and church ruins share an undeniable, symbiotic relationship with neighbouring Clontarf Castle, situated just a short stroll up Castle Avenue.
Shared Feudal Estates: For centuries, the ecclesiastical site and the Castle were dual anchors of the local manor. Whichever power held the Castle—whether the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, or private landlords—exercised patronage over the church and graveyard.*
The Vernon Family Legacy: Following the Cromwellian confiscations in 1649, Clontarf Castle and its surrounding lands passed to Quartermaster General John Vernon. The Vernon family ruled as Lords of Clontarf for over 300 years, and St John the Baptist cemetery served as their family burial ground, containing multiple generation plots.*
Architectural Cohesion: The ornate dressed-limestone pedestrian entrance to the cemetery, featuring a pitched slate roof and Tudor arch, was constructed around 1840. This design directly echoes the dramatic Gothic revival remodelling of Clontarf Castle undertaken in 1837 by architect William Vitruvius Morrison.
Notable Burials and Figures of Interest
Maureen Potter (1925–2004)
The Vernon Family Plots
Members of the Vernon dynasty who shaped modern Clontarf, oversaw the development of Castle Avenue, and managed the estate from 1649 until the mid-20th century.
Sean and Esther O'Moore (1916 Easter Rising Veterans) - A prominent republican couple buried together in the graveyard. Sean O'Moore fought at the Four Courts under Commandant Ned Daly during the 1916 Rising and later served as Officer Commanding of the 1st Battalion, Dublin Brigade during the War of Independence. His wife, Esther Wisely O'Moore, served in the GPO alongside Patrick Pearse and James Connolly.
Captain Joseph Massey (d. 1799) - A merchant navy captain from New Haven, Sussex, whose flat gravestone records his tragic death when his ship was wrecked off Dublin Port during a violent storm on 1 February 1799—a day that claimed five vessels in Dublin Bay.
Local Merchant & Gentry Families
**It is easy to see how one could mistake the two at first glance: both sit along the northern coastal approach out of Dublin city, and both feature medieval ruined church arches nestled within a walled burial ground. However, while St John the Baptist in Clontarf sits tucked behind Castle Avenue's suburban canopy, Kilbarrack Graveyard stands exposed directly to the elements, set on raised ground right along the Howth Road in Bayside.^^
For street and documentary photography, Kilbarrack offers a visually striking setting—weathered limestone ruins, headstones leaning against the coastal wind, and sweeping wide-angle vistas across Dublin Bay towards Bull Island and Howth.
Early Origins and "The Mariners' Church"
Like many of Dublin's ancient coastal sites, Kilbarrack's history spans back over 1,400 years:
6th-Century Foundations: The name Kilbarrack derives from the Irish Cill Bharróg (the Church of St Berach). St Berach established an early monastic hermitage here in the late 6th century.
The Chapel of Mone: The present ruined stone structure—known historically as the Capella de Mone ("chapel of the boggy ground")—dates back to the late 12th and early 13th centuries. It operated under the jurisdiction of St Mary’s Abbey in Dublin.
A Sanctuary for Seafarers: Situated directly on the original shoreline before modern road re-alignments, the church served as a vital sanctuary for sailors entering Dublin Bay. Ships arriving in port were required to pay a small levy towards the maintenance of the chapel, which in turn provided aid to shipwrecked mariners and consecrated burial ground for drowned seafarers washed ashore.
The Literary and Folklore Connection
The Healthiest Graveyard in Ireland - Dublin playwright Brendan Behan famously immortalised Kilbarrack in his autobiography Borstal Boy (1958), noting that his family called it "the healthiest graveyard in Ireland, because it was so close to the sea". Behan also set his posthumously completed play, Richard's Cork Leg, within the graveyard.
Notable Burials and Figures of Interest
Kilbarrack contains a remarkable spectrum of Irish political, cultural, and notorious historical figures: Figure Historical Significance
Eoin MacNeill (1867–1945) Co-founder of the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge), Chief of Staff of the Irish Volunteers, politician, and prominent historian.
James McNeill (1869–1938) Brother to Eoin; served as the second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. He is buried alongside his wife, Josephine McNeill, Ireland's first female diplomatic minister.
Francis Higgins (1746–1802) Notoriously known as "The Sham Squire". Higgins was an unscrupulous underworld figure and newspaper proprietor who turned informer for the British authorities, revealing the whereabouts of United Irishmen leader Lord Edward FitzGerald in 1798. His tomb at Kilbarrack was famously attacked and smashed with sledgehammers by furious Dubliners years after his death.
Daniel Head & Republican Cenotaphs
Visual & Photographic Appeal
From a compositional standpoint, Kilbarrack Graveyard offers exceptional geometry: Architectural Lines: The central walled-up gable arch and exposed western end frame natural light beautifully during early morning sunrise or late evening golden hour.Textural Contrast: The stark, heavily weathered medieval masonry contrasts sharply with modern coastal infrastructure, the passing DART line, and the open maritime horizon across the Howth Road.
* Clontarf Railway Station * Docklands Railway Station * Malahide Railway Station