Behind the Couch

Magheralin, from the Irish Machaire Lainne , meaning "Plain of the Church", is a tiny village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. In the centre of the village an ancient stone tower casts its shadow over an equally ancient graveyard. The church that originally stood on this site was identified with Lann Ronan, or the Church of Ian, and is cited in the taxation of Pope Nicholas of 1306 - although no traces of the medieval structure remain today. In 1400 a new church was built incorporating parts of the previous building, and in 1442 a stone tower was added. By 1657 however, the church was described as being in a state of decay and ruin, and was later completely rebuilt along with the existing tower, which still stretches out of the earth and above the olden trees surrounding it. The practice of burying the dead within the church itself was stopped in 1773, but damage to the structure had already been done. In 1839 the decision to build a new church was take...

As mentioned in my post about Abney Park Cemetery , I like wandering around graveyards – the older the better - and taking photos. I’ve been staying outside Newport, County Mayo, with friends for the last few days, and much to my morbid delight was able to visit the ruins of Burrishoole Abbey and the cemetery that surrounds it. Situated upon a sheltered shore just outside the town, the abbey was founded in 1470 by Richard de Burgo of Turlough - Lord MacWilliam Oughter - and apparently built without the permission of the Pope. In 1793 the roof of the abbey collapsed and because almost all the friaries and abbeys across Ireland were suppressed in the wake of the Reformation in the 16th century, it was never rebuilt. All that remains today is the rather gothic looking church and the eastern wall of the cloister, while the grounds are still used as a cemetery. The close proximity of the cemetery to the sea and the eerie atmosphere such combined imagery evokes, really reminded me of th...