Con Lyne, Thomas Kennedy and the uninscribed tomb, funeral of O'Connell.

Chapter V.

Con Lyne, who had taken an active part in the final interment of Curran’s remains and enjoyed life with a zest but slightly shared by his illustrious friend, did not live to see the classic tomb which now marks the historic spot. From the records of the cemetery it appears that Cornelius Lyne died at Hume Street on the 8th March, 1841, aged 66. “Will somebody give us an account of the sayings and doing’s of this Prince of Gastronomes?” wrote the editor of the University Magazine; but its contributors made no sign. Readers of that pleasant olla podrida of contemporary gossip, Tom Moore’s Journals will remember frequent allusions to Con Lyne. His purple face and apoplectic throat, almost choked in a stiff, white cravat, were familiar objects 50 years ago; and when a wag asked him if he were Con of the Hundred Battles, he is said to have replied - “I am Con of the Hundred Bottles.” He was a noted bon vivant, and a favourite at the mess of the Munster Bar - a body which, at last, addressed him as “Father” - and when he took the presidential chair at the head of the table, it was unwarrantably whispered that he was “Con-Seated.” Once, when the subject of epitaphs was debated, he said, regarding his own, that he would be satisfied with “Contentus in Tumulo,” on which Dr Leyne, a cousin of O’Connell’s aptly quoted was still better - “Sarcophago Contentus”

Thomas Kennedy, B.L., undeterred by the fact that the path of Irish periodic literature was strewn with skeletons started, in 1832, the Irish Monthly Magazine, which for a lengthened period pursued its course boldly, and attained so high a rank that Dr Madden and John Cornelius O’Callaghan in their historic works, rely on it as an authority and cull its beauties. [See “Lives and Times of Unitde Irishmen,” Vol. III., pp. 475-6, &c. Vide also the “Green Book,” by J. C. O’Callaghan, pp. 35, 248-9, and Hilbert’s “Streets of Dublin,” in the Irish Quarterly Review.] He entered on the enterprise with eyes open. The first and second numbers of his serial furnish a detailed account of all the Irish magazines that rose and fell since the Union. A love of books had always characterised his family. His great-grandfather was Minister from Holland to the Court of Queen Anne, who gave him - emblazoned with her royal arms - rare folios, still preserved by the family. Kennedy was an archaeologist, but regardless of the fact that over the gate of Galway is inscribed - “From the ferocious O’Flaherties, good Lord deliver us,” he married a lady of that feudal sept, who died young. Kennedy himself followed on June 15th, 1842. Death had no terrors for that vigorous, thoughtful mind. He had always a liking for churchyards: and some lines of his on the uninscribed tomb of Emmet have often been quoted.

**The Uninscribed Tomb.

**“Let my tomb remain uninscribed, and my memory in oblivion, until other times, and other men, can do justice to my character.

“Pray tell me,” I said, to an old man who stray’d.

Drooping over the graves which his own hands had made;

“Pray tell me the name of the tenant who sleeps

‘Neath yonder lone shade where the sad willow weeps:

Every stone is engraved with the name of the dead,

But yon blank slab declares not whose spirit is fled?”

In silence he bowed, and then beckoned me nigh,

Till we stood o’er the grave - then he said with a sigh:

“Yes, they dare not to trace e’en a word on this stone

To the memory of him who sleeps coldly and lone;

He told them, commanded, the lines o’er his grave

Should never he traced by the hands of a slave!

“He bade them to shade e’en his name in the gloom,

Till the morning of freedom should shine on his tomb.

When the flag of my country at liberty flies,

Then, then, let my name and my monument rise.’

You see they obey’d him - ‘tis twenty-eight years,

And they come still to moisten his grave with their tears.

“He was young, like yourself, and aspired to o’erthrow

The tyrants who filled his loved island with woe:

They crushed his bold spirit - for this earth was confined,

Too scant, for the range of his luminous mind.”

He paused, and the old man went slowly away,

And I felt, as he left me, an impulse to pray.

“Grant Heaven I may see, e’er my own days are done

A monument rise o’er my country’s lost son! -

And oh! proudest task, be it mine to indite

The long-delayed tribute a freeman must write;

Till then shall its theme in my heart deeply dwell,

So peace to thy slumbers, dear shade-fare-thee-well.”

In the same grave with Thomas Kennedy rests his sister Charlotte, and her husband, Major Talbot, who, in well-known proceedings before the House of Lords, very nearly established his claim to the Earldom of Shrewsbury; but a powerful competitor appeared in Lord Ingestre, and Talbot’s means were inadequate to maintain the contest to the end. He was the cousin of the Princess Borghese, whose life has been written in French by Zeloni.

“Malone,” declared Grattan, “was a man of the finest intellect any country ever produced. The three ablest men I have ever heard were Mr. Pitt (the elder), Mr. Murray, and Mr. Malone. For a popular assembly I would choose Pitt; for a Privy Council, Murray; for 12 wise men, Malone.” The Right Hon. Antony Malone had been Prime Sergeant and afterwards Chancellor of the Exchequer in Ireland; whom it had been proposed to transfer from the Irish to the English House of Commons in order to oppose Sir Robert Walpole. Malone’s nephew was created Lord Sunderlin. A conspicuous monument decorated with the arms of the latter peerage, arrests attention in the Chapel Circle. It bears date November 4th, 1846, and was raised by the representatives of Antony Malone and Lord Sunderlin. Edward Malone, the Shakspearian commentator, is also mentioned on the stone.

It occurred to the governing body that a cemetery on the south-east side of Dublin would prove a convenience to the Catholic residents of that quarter, and it may excite surprise to hear that the Board had been actually in treaty for the purchase of Mount Jerome. Delays and difficulties intervened until Mr. Johnson - who was the authorised promoter of a new cemetery for Protestant burials closed with the vendors and became its first secretary.

It was not until August, 1846, that Parliamentary powers were obtained regulating the management of both the cemeteries with which this volume deals. The Act provides for “the maintenance of the cemeteries at Golden Bridge and Prospect, in the county of Dublin, and to create a perpetual succession in the governing body or committee for managing the same.” [9 & 10 Vic., cap. ccclxi.]

Fifty-four enactments follow, one of which (the 27th) provides - “That it shall be lawful for any clergyman duly licensed or appointed according to the rules or form of the religion to which such clergyman may belong, at the request, in writing, of the executor of any deceased person, or of any other person having the charge of the interment of any deceased person, to perform the burial service of the said religion in any such burial-ground.” And the then committee constituted for the government of “said burying-grounds” are described as - His Grace the Most Reverend Daniel Murray, Archbishop; the Right Reverend Michael Blake, Bishop; the Very Reverend William Yore, Clerk; Daniel O’Connell Esq., M P and Christopher Fitzsimon, Esq., trustees, George Atkinson M.D.; Stephen Coppinger, B.L. Patrick Costello Esq., Henry Grattan Curran, B .L.; Terence Dolan, gentleman; James Fagan, M.P.; Fergus Farrell, J.P., William Ford, gentleman; Charles Gavin, alderman, John Keshan, alderman; Joseph Denis Mullen, Esq., Denis Moylan D L.; Timothy O’Brien, alderman and M. P.; Patrick M’Owen, Richard O’Gorman, John Reynolds, Michael Walsh, and James Egan, Esquires.

Thirty years after his earlier colleagues had passed away Dr. Atkinson remained the sole survivor - a man of great energy and decision of character, who, between the ages of 80 and ninety90 was one of the most zealous workers on the Board. Under powers created by the Act bye-laws for the management and maintenance of the cemeteries were framed. An abstract of these will be found in the Appendix.

Later on some new names are found David Fitzgerald brother of Lord Fitzgerald, Sir Edward M’Donnell, Maurice O’Connell, M.P.; John O’Connell, M.P., Sir PatrickO’Brien Bart.; Sir Dominick Corrigan, Bart., M.D., Sir John Bradstreet, Bart.; Mr. Sergeant Heron, Sir Richard Martin, Bart D.L.; Laurence Waldron, D.L.; Mark O’Shaughnessy, LL.D.[ Mark O’Shaughnessy, LL.D., was secretary to the Statistical Society and finally became Professor of Law in the Queen’s College, Cork His archivistic research and literary handiwork in the latter capacity were much appreciated by his colleagues. He wrote a book on Chancery practice, and was well regarded by his brethren at the Bar], &c.

It may be worthy of note that in no part of the Act are they styled “Catholic cemeteries.” It distinctly enacts in its first clause that the Board is to be known and addressed “by the name and style of the *Dublin *Cemeteries Committee ”’ - the word Dublin italicised. This is as it ought to be. Many persons erroneously regard Glasnevin Cemetery as an exclusively Catholic institution; an assumption hardly warranted after the facts already mentioned.

Great care is exercised by the Board in seeing to the accuracy of inscriptions, and that the facts and dates are in strict accordance with the records. Mr. MacDonough, Q.C., the eloquent Member for Sligo, when addressing, on January, 24, 1870, the late Chief Magistrate, J. W. O’Donnell, said:- In a very recent case a photograph of a monument, with its records of death, &c., at Glasnevin, was produced in evidence before one of the superior Courts. That took place in the case of the Meredyths, a legitimacy case, which was tried before the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and a special jury, on an issue directed by Master Brooke. I was counsel for the parties in that case. We maintained the legitimacy of the several parties, and we had a photograph, as stated here, of the particular tomb produced. Master Brooke himself went out to see it. The question was - was it tampered with? and the admirable manner in which the proceedings of the committee were carried on was seen when the books were produced. The committee endeavour to prevent any defacement or alteration on any inscription. They will not allow any inscription once placed on the tomb to be altered by the parties; they will, if you think fit, add an inscription. If for instance, another member of the family die, you are at liberty to add an inscription in reference to that person, but you are never to alter an inscription, as to age or anything else.”

The great political organisation of O’Connell was broken up by the secession of “Young Ireland.” Famine and pestilence then came and swept through the land. His heart was broken: reluctantly he obeyed the voice of his physician, who ordered him to a more sunny clime. At Genoa his strength completely gave way, and, just as the bright sun of an Italian May had set, he breathed his last - bequeathing his heart to Rome and his body to Ireland. This sad event occurred on May 15th, 1847. The Committee of Glasnevin Cemetery lost no time in soliciting the privilege of possessing what remained of him. The request was acceded to, and Mathias O’Kelly - the respected secretary of the Board - left Ireland for Genoa charged with the mission of guarding to its last resting-place the embalmed corpse. In due time the honoured remains reached Dublin. The coffin had reposed on deck, within a temporary chapel, draped in black. The crape was at once claimed by, and distributed amongst, the crowd - some of whom, kneeling and bareheaded, craved a relic of their lost leader.

A great pall seemed spread over Dublin during four days that the coffin lay in the Pro-Cathedral. At length acolytes, in red and white, bearing torches, issued forth, followed by lines of priests chanting the *Miserere. *The reception given by the people of Paris to the bones of Napoleon was less imposing and emotional than that which greeted the mortal mart of O’Connell. The coffin was laid on a bier drawn by six horses; the triumphal car on which the Tribune had stood after his liberation from prison followed. A long train of mourning coaches came next, each horse led by a mute.

All the trades, confraternities, and philanthropic societies of Dublin walked in procession; bishops, judges, barristers, and merchants proudly swelled its ranks. The various Corporations of Ireland, wrapped in their red robes, added to the picturesque effect.

The roof of the General Post-Office was black with spectators. As the cortege passed over Carlisle (now O’Connell) Bridge every ship in the river lowered its flag and manned its yards. Throughout the whole route to Glasnevin a sea of heads surged; mingled prayers and sighs went up to Heaven, and one thinker soliloquised, in the works of Shelley -

“He has out-soared the shadow of our night,

Envy, and calumny, and hate, and pain;

And that unrest which men miscall delight

Can touch him not, nor torture him again.”

The Very Rev. Dr. Yore, a priest who had much influence with the people, was entrusted by the committee with the general management of the procession. The efficiency of the arrangements are acknowledged in the following letter:-

“Merrion Square, “August 7th, 1847.

“My Dear and Very Rev. Sir, - In the unavoidable absence of my elder brother, and in the name of our family permit me to tender you and the other members of the Cemetery Committee our most heartfelt thanks for your exertions in the arrangements and conducting of the funeral of our beloved and lamented father, and all connected with it. The order, the regularity, the decorum manifested on the occasion, when such vast masses congregated, must have been owing, in a great measure, to the good feelings of the people; but I may fairly say the admirable arrangements made by the Cemetery Committee aided powerfully the good-will of all present in the procession.

“It was, indeed, consoling to our afflicted hearts to witness the respect paid to the beloved remains of our dear father, and the affectionate attention, activity, and zeal evinced by every member of the committee in the execution of those arduous duties voluntarily undertaken in paying a tribute of esteem and attachment to one who in life was their sincere friend and faithful counsellor. - I have the honour to be, with much respect, your grateful and obedient servant,

“Morgan O’Connell.

“The Very Rev. Dr. Yore, V.G., &c.”

The family of O’Connell felt specially grateful and touched, the more so as the expenses attendant on the conveyance of the remains from Italy and the subsequent obsequies in Ireland were borne by the Cemeteries’ Committee. These appear to have amounted to [£1,300, but do not include a sum of nearly £500 expended on works connected with the last resting place of O’Connell. It was a favourite idea of George Petrie, LL.D. (to whom Irish archaeology is much indebted), that the O’Connell monument should consist of a group of buildings, including a chapel of the earliest style of Christian architecture, like that of Cormac on the Rock of Cashel, together with a Celtic stone cross similar to those found at Monasterboice and Clonmacnois, and lastly an accurate reproduction of one of those wonderful Round Towers, which lend to Ireland a peculiar interest and charm. The latter was begun first, and soon attained a height exceeding that of any of the ancient edifices after which the O’Connell Tower had been fashioned. In this erection all the funds available for the purpose were spent, and Petrie’s design, in its entirety, has never been carried out. But the new mortuary chapel adjacent - built on the plan of Cormac’s, at Cashel - supplies the omission, and as regards Celtic crosses, several fine specimens have since been raised. These crosses, as Christian memorials, strike the beholder as an agreeable contrast to the conventional broken column, inverted torches, urns, and other emblems of Paganism unsuited to a place of Christian sepulture.

English readers will not suppose, after what has been said, that the failure to accomplish all that Petrie planned as a monument to O’Connell, showed any decay of national gratitude. Good proof to the contrary is afforded by the erection in one of the noblest streets of Europe - that now known as O’Connell Street, Dublin - of Foley’s colossal group of statuary, commemorative of the services of Ireland’s Liberator.

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