Glasnevin Cemetery

Before the establishment of the Glasnevin Cemetery in 1832, Irish Catholics in Dublin had no cemeteries of their own due to the repressive Penal Laws imposed on the Irish by the British. Glasnevin Cemetery contains many historically interesting monuments as well as the graves of many of Ireland's most prominent national figures. The cemetery also offers a fascinating view of the changing style of death monuments in Ireland over the last 200 years: from the austere, simple, high stone erections of the period up until the 1860s, to the elaborate Celtic crosses of the nationalistic revival from the 1860s to 1960s, to the plain Italian marble of the late twentieth century. Glasnevin Cemetery has grown from its original 9 to over 120 acres. (Dublin, Ireland)