Despite the Rock of Cashel being a singularly unique collection of medieval buildings perched dramatically on a natural limestone outcrop, questions from visitors often concern not the buildings, but the graveyard. While people are always intrigued to hear
that the Rock of Cashel is still an active burial ground, one of the most common questions we receive is ‘which is the oldest grave?’ The answer to this question is not as simple as it might seem. While graves from the eighteenth and nineteenth century
can be seen dotted throughout the graveyard, older graves can be found inside Cormac’s Chapel and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, although most are not in their original location.

Within Cormac’s Chapel sits a large sarcophagus of early-twelfth century date. Thought to be the tomb of Tadhg Mac Carthaig, the brother of the chapel’s builder, Cormac Mac Carthaig, it now
sits against the west wall of the chapel.

Its original location is unknown, but it was likely placed in a recess in an earlier church on the site that no longer stands.
Elaborately carved with intertwining animals in the Urnes style, it likely dates to the mid-1120s, shortly before the construction of the chapel between 1127 and 1134. However, excavations carried out in and around Cormac’s Chapel in 1992 and 1993 revealed graves possibly as old as the sixth century which could have formed part of an early royal graveyard at the site connected to the traditional kings of Cashel, the Eóganachta. These, then, would be the oldest graves on the site. However, none of these are marked above ground level.

Several medieval grave-slabs can also be found inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In the early-nineteenth century Archdeacon Henry Cotton made an effort to collect the better examples of carved stone at the Rock and gather them together within the confines
of the cathedral. Many of these are illegible but the earliest identifiable slab dates to 1503 and belongs to a Julius O’Kearny, an attendant of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This, then, would be the
earliest identifiable grave with a date attached to it. A second slab, located in a side chapel in the north transept, dates to 1506 and belongs to Patrick Connolly, Burgess of Cashel, and Joanna
Wale, his wife. Several others date to the early-sixteenth century including the grave-slab of the Archdeacon of Cashel, Robertus Hackett, who died on 10th December, 1510. However, one small fragment of a grave-slab in this area may date to the late-thirteenth or early fourteenth century. All that remains is the bottom of the slab which shows a pair of pointed shoes, and the bottom of a cloak that reaches the figures ankles. While no inscription survives, the style makes it clear that it is from this time period. Another slab, again from the late-thirteenth or
early-fourteenth century, is hidden away inside a mural passage in the nave of the cathedral, where it has been reused as a
lintel stone. Considering this portion of St. Patrick’s Cathedral dates to the late thirteenth century, the slab likely dates to this period or earlier as there is no evidence that the slab was inserted later.

In the two side-chapels of the north transept, are the remains of sixteenth century altar-tombs, again collected together by Archdeacon Cotton. In the north side-chapel, the remains of an altar-tomb depicting various saints can be seen, produced by the famed O’Tunney school of sculpture. In the south side-chapel of the north transept are the very well-preserved remains of a second altar-tomb, again depicting saints, this time produced by the Thurles school of sculpture. While much of these tombs have now been lost, they likely had a full effigy on top. These may not
be the earliest tomb sculptures to have survived on site, but they are certainly some of the finest.

With graves dating back possibly as far as the sixth century, and the earliest identifiable grave-slab dating to 1503, the graveyard continues to intrigue visitors. The questions we receive show a desire from visitors for a human connection to the site, one that goes beyond history and architecture, and one that connects people to those for whom the Rock of Cashel was part of
everyday life.