New Graveyard Video from Skibbereen Heritage Centre
The latest graveyard video from Skibbereen Heritage Centre focuses on the medieval graveyard in Drimoleague, and you can now see it on the Heritage Centre website's graveyards page https://skibbheritage.com/graveyard-videos/. This short film gives an overview of an Gorta Mór in Drimoleague, alongside some of the horrific Famine stories relating to this graveyard. The mass grave at the entrance to the graveyard, known locally as 'an poll gorta' was dug as an emergency measure for the hundreds who were dying in Drimoleague during that terrible time. The story of 'The Scorcher' also features – John O'Mahoney was given this name for his prowess on the football field and the local football team are now nicknamed 'The Scorchers' in his honour. John left Drimoleague for France in 1915 after enlisting in the army to fight in World War One. His letters home tell of his injuries and how he missed home as well as mentioning the 'dreadful disease' which was the Spanish 'flu. We also hear the story of the family who found their ancestral grave with its distinctive 'heart-shaped' stone monument, and also learn about the life of Methodist preacher, William Feckman, in whose honour the local Methodist Chapel is named. A short tour of the memorials in this graveyard follows which includes the names Collins, Beamish, Fuller, O'Driscoll, Donoghue, Anglin, Bateman, Sweetnam, Connolly, Cotter, Barry, Jennings and Flynn.
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