New light cast on 'mysterious' headstones in Mayo cemetery
NEW light has been cast on 'mysterious' headstones in a Co. Mayo cemetery which date back to the War of Independence/Civil War era.
The unusual headstones in Addergoole Cemetery, near Lahardane, on the west shore of Lough Conn, overlooked by Nephin Mountain, are the work of Thomas (Tom) Caulfield, a smallholder who lived at Terrybaun, about five miles distant.
Research by some of his grandchildren, the Nearys from Castlebar, indicates the somewhat unique methods used by Tom in the making of the headstones which are unique to the vicinity.
The research indicates that Tom, an able and practical man, apart from headstones, made his own ploughs, gates, cartwheels and bought one of the first bicycles in the area.
The headstones, made from concrete, were placed on a cart and pulled by Tom’s white horse, Charlie, to the local cemetery about five miles away.
Members of Tom’s family - he had seven children - were regularly dispatched to nearby Lough Conn to collect small coloured stones from the lakeshore which were fixed in the headstone to denote the decades of the Rosary.
Room was left at the top of the structure for figurines of the Holy Family.
Tom then placed a glass panel outside with two steel rods to protect the glass and figurines inside.
Says Michael Neary, one of Tom Caulfield’s many grandchildren: “My late mother, Bridie, along with her brothers and sisters, used to pick the coloured pebbles. The little white stones represented the Hail Mary while red stones were used to represent the Glory be to the Father.
“Grandfather Tom used to use a black slate on which he etched the details of the deceased. He always signed his work which, I believe, was unusual for the day.
“He charged £5 for each headstone but there was a lot of work and transport involved.”
The Caulfield headstones, mostly dating from 1910 to 1925, are among more than 500 legible headstones located in Addergoole Cemetery.
Many of the older graves, dating back to the 1700s, have no markers. The ruins of an old church, partly restored, are located in the cemetery.