Clonbern holds unique monument

By DAVID BURKE THE MYSTERIES of the past met the hopes of the future in Clonbern on Thursday when the schoolchildren of the area were charged with the care of their local heritage. That wasn't really supposed to be the focus of the day, which was to launch a publication celebrating the conservation of the Dennis mausoleum in the local cemetery. [private] But the children have been central to the publication â€â€ their sketches and drawings of the mausoleum pop up throughout, and they were told by more than one speaker that they were the future custodians of their environment, and the treasures it contains. For a long time nobody knew quite how culturally valuable an artefact is the cylindrical cast iron structure that dominates Clonbern cemetery. It featured in our pages once or twice in the last few decades, but for most of the time it was ignored. It turns out that there is nothing like this anywhere else in Ireland or the UK. Standing about 16 feet tall and 12 in diameter, crowned by a funerary urn, it contains three trestles, but only two coffins. It was made in 1863 for Colonel Maurice Griffin Dennis by his widow, Elizabeth. He rests within it, as does his brother John, ancestor of the late Lady Molly Cusack-Smyth and her daughter, Oonagh Mary Hyland of Bermingham House. The colonel died in Dalkey, aged 58, but asked to be buried at 'Clonbern, my nephew's place ... at the expense of my dear wife'. His wife turned to the relatively new technology of cast iron and relied on the classical Greek model for the design of her husband's tomb. She may have intended to be laid in it herself, but of the three trestles, only two were occupied. The mausoleum was originally painted white, but it has over the years weathered to a rusty brown. This colour it will remain, because painting requires constant maintenance, whereas good quality cast iron in a clean environment like the Galway countryside will last for a long time with only surface rusting. The people of Clonbern were complimented by the  Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan TD, for the care they had taken of their graveyard and its monuments over the years. 'The graveyard reflects the community and the community respects the dead,' he said, commenting that the mausoleum had generally been left unmolested for 150 years, apart from some minor vandalism. He commented on the high standard of the drawings done by the local schoolchildren, and commended their teachers, Bernard McHale and Nancy Lyons. As Community Development Association Chairman John Kearney said, the children are now part of history themselves â€â€ the names of the 4th, 5th and 6th classes are printed in the booklet. Several bodies were involved in the conservation and restoration of the monument, including the local community, Galway County Council, the Follies Trust and the Heritage Council. The booklet is published by the Follies Trust, which is based in Northern Ireland, and its chairwoman, Primrose Wilson, said that when the children sang Ireland's Call at the beginning of the ceremony, it was very apt. All four provinces were represented: the location was in Connacht, the Minister was from Munster, the restoration was carried out by a Leinster firm, Bushy Park Ironworks, and the Follies Trust is based in Ulster. Máirín Doddy, Architectural Conservation Officer with Galway Co Council, said the mausoleum was unique, and therefore of national importance. She commented that the community's protection of the pieces that had fallen from the structure was very important, and stressed that best practice had been followed in the restoration. County Mayor Cllr Mogie Maher said that the project was a credit to all concerned, and Primrose Wilson encouraged the community of Clonbern to publicise the mausoleum, as well as the more traditional stone-built Egan mausoleum which is also part of the graveyard, because it would be an attraction for ­visitors.   Restoration firm has a local link   Máirín Doddy writes about the design and construction of the mausoleum, and Paul Duffy makes the case for its having been cast in the Galway iron foundry run by the Stephens family. Dr Nini Rodgers gives the history of the Dennis family, ending with Lady Molly, and Dermot Nolan writes about the conservation of the monument, while Dr Evelyn Mullaly, the editor, describes the contrasting stone-built Egan Mausoleum in another part of the graveyard. â€â€ DB [/private]