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August 24, 2005

ANNUAL GRAVEYARD MASS GREY ABBEY 22 AUGUST 2005

The rain held off and though it remained blustery there was a good turn out for the annual graveyard mass at Grey Abbey on Monday night last at 7.30 pm.

 

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THE GRAVEYARD MASS, 2005

Although there was a slight chill in the air the sun was still strong. A canopy was erected near the ruin of the old church to protect against all eventualities.

 

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The mass was celebrated by Fr. Adrian Carbery and was beautifully enhanced by the parish choir.

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Fr. Carbery asked people to remember the generations of Kildare people who were buried in the graveyard and the Franciscans who served the local community for hundreds of years at Grey Abbey. He also paid tribute to the Grey Abbey Conservation Project and the men of the CE scheme who keep the graveyard beautifully maintained.

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Amongst those present were some visitors from Canada who were introduced to me by Joe Connelly after the Mass. Paul White was in Kildare Town in search of his ancestors and to follow up on information researched by his family over the past few years. His Grandfather was Michael White from Cherryville who is buried at Grey Abbey.

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 Paul White from Canada beside the grave of his Grandfather, Michael White of Cherryville and Kildare Town.

One of Michael’s sons was Paul’s father who went to Canada, another son was Stephen White who was executed in 1922 on the Curragh during the Civil War. Stephen would have been Paul’s uncle.

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 Paul beside the grave of the uncle he never knew, Stephen White who was executed in 1922 during the Irish Civil War.


Paul paid a visit to me in the Local Studies Dept. of Kildare Co. Library the next day and was able to trace his family in the 1901and 1911 Census. They were iron moulders from Cherryville and lived next door to the Fitzgeralds. The site of Fitzgerald’s forge is still a well-known location in the area. Some time after 1911 they moved in to Kildare Town to Grey Abbey St. where before the Civil War young Stephen worked on the railway. No doubt it was here also he came into contact with Patrick Mangan, of Fairgreen, another railway worker and another of those executed in 1922. Their knowledge of the rail timetables and the workings of the railway obviously helped them during their raids on the railway lines and disruption of the Free State communications.

Posted by mariocorrigan at August 24, 2005 11:28 PM