Killoughey based councillor unveils information guide at old graveyard in Offaly

LOCAL Fine Gael councillor, Neil Feighery, officially unveiled a new information sign at the old Killoughey graveyard recently.

The sign had been due to be unveiled at the annual blessing of the graves in early August but was stolen on the evening before the prayer service.

The sign was subsequently returned anonymously and left at the perimeter of the historic cemetery where it was discovered by Odran Condron, who along with his mother, Breda, had come up with the idea to place an information guide there.

Speaking following the recent unveiling of the sign, Cllr Feighery said: "I was honoured to unveil the new information sign at Killoughey Graveyard on Sunday, August 17.

The event was the culmination of many years of hard work by Breda and Odran Condron. The Condron family with the help of neighbours and friends organised a very dignified and fitting ceremony with the prayer service officiated by Fr Michael Meade with beautiful music by local musician Cliodhna Young.

The sun shone brightly for this memorable event in this sacred site in Killoughey."

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The original sign has been damaged when it was stolen and a new one had to be manufactured before its erection and unveiling.

Speaking after the sign had been returned, Cllr Feighery said: "I'm delighted to see that it had been returned and I really hope we can draw a line under the incident," said the Fine Gael public representative.

The unveiling of the sign was due to take place in the old Killoughey graveyard, outside Mountbolus, on a Saturday afternoon during the annual blessing of the graves.

"We installed the sign – featuring a wooden stand and map - on Friday night at 8pm but it was stolen by 10am on the Saturday morning," outlined Odran Condron,

"The sign is to record the history of the people buried there and to direct people to their ancestral graves as many of the headstones are now illegible."

The idea by Breda and Odran Condron to erect a sign in the graveyard came after they heard that two families travelled from abroad to find their ancestral graves but they were unable to do so because many of the historic headstones are very old and illegible.

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The new sign's purpose is to direct people to the headstones they are looking for.

"We often have visitors to the graveyard from abroad - the US, Australia and New Zealand. Two groups from Roscommon recently visited the graveyard and a group from Cork are visiting in July," outlined Odran.

He said the sign project would not have been made possible without the help of local councillor Neil Feighery and the Tullamore Municipal Council who provided grant aid for the project.

Cllr Feighery said all the community in Killoughey were very proud of the historic graveyard which was steeped in history.

"On Christmas Day in 1653, when locals were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the church was surrounded by Cromwellian troops, who set it alight and burned everyone inside," recalled the Killoughey native.

He paid tribute to Breda and Odran Condron for their work, in particular their research into the stories of the people buried there and the headstones,"

"As the local councillor I was delighted to secure funding so that this informative sign could be erected in the graveyard for the benefit of tourists and local people alike," added Cllr Feighery.