Belfast City Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Chathair Bhéal Feirste) is a large

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

in west

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. It lies within the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and Springfield Road, near

Milltown Cemetery Milltown Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Bhaile an Mhuilinn) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway. History Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 as part ...

. It is maintained by

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...

. Vandalism in the cemetery is widespread.

History

Following the Belfast Burial Ground Act (1866), the cemetery was opened on August 1, 1869 as a cross denominational burial ground for the people of Belfast, a fast-growing Victorian town at the time. The land was purchased from Thomas Sinclair. The cemetery features cast iron fountains and separate

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

areas, divided by a sunken wall. Many of Belfast's wealthiest families have plots in the cemetery, particularly those involved in the

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

trade. Since its opening in 1869 around 226,000 people have been buried in the cemetery. There has been an area set aside for Belfast's

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

residents since 1874. In this area is a memorial to Daniel Joseph Jaffe. Daniel Jaffe was the father of

Otto Jaffe Sir Otto Moses Jaffe, JP (13 August 1846 – 29 April 1929), also spelt Jaffé, was a German-born British businessman, who was twice elected Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a leader of the Jewish community in the city. Family Jaffe was born in ...

, a Jewish linen exporter and former Lord Mayor of Belfast. Above the old Jewish entrance to the cemetery, Hebrew writing can clearly be identified. In 1916 an area was dedicated to soldiers who died serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, when 296 Commonwealth service personnel were buried in the cemetery. Those whose graves could not be marked by headstones are listed on Screen Wall memorial in Plot H.http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/73327/BELFAST%20CITY%20CEMETERY CWGC Cemetery Report. Many of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

personnel killed in the sinking of '' HMS Otranto'' in 1918 were buried in the graveyard. After the war their bodies were exhumed and repatriated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 274 Commonwealth service personnel, 5 of them unidentified, were buried in the cemetery, besides 3 Norwegian nationals whose graves are also maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

. As the frequent target of vandalism, many of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

soldiers' headstones were moved to Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park. In 2012, continuing vandalism of the World War I Screen Wall has led to proposals to move it to another part of the cemetery. Due to its historical importance, the cemetery is a popular tourist attraction in Belfast, with guided tours available. On 8 April 2006,

Denis Donaldson Denis Martin Donaldson (1950 – 4 April 2006) was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a member of Sinn Féin who was killed following his exposure in December 2005 as an informer in the employ of MI5 and the Specia ...

was buried in the cemetery. Donaldson was a former IRA member and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

politician. He was killed shortly after being named as a British spy. His burial in the City Cemetery rather than in the republican plot of Milltown Cemetery was significant, as it was seen as a final snub by the republican movement. On 7 August 2012, an image purportedly depicting the face of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

(cf.

Pareidolia Pareidolia (; ) is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Common examples are perceived images of animals, ...

) appeared on a tree stump in the cemetery.

Notable interments

Sir Robert Anderson, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Anderson, 1st Baronet (8 December 1837 – 16 July 1921), was an Irish businessman, High Sheriff and Lord Mayor of Belfast. He was the son of James Anderson, of Corbofin, County Monaghan, and moved to Belfast at the age of fifteen. I ...

- politician, former Lord Mayor of Belfast. * Robert Hugh Hanley Baird - businessman *

Margaret Byers Margaret Byers (, Morrow; April 1832 – 21 February 1912) was an Irish educator, activist, social reformer, missionary, and writer of the long nineteenth century. She was the founder of Victoria College, Belfast. Byers was involved in philanthro ...

- educator, activist, social reformer, missionary, and writer *

Sir George Clark, 1st Baronet Sir George Smith Clark, 1st Baronet, DL (8 November 1861 – 23 March 1935) was a businessman and politician in Northern Ireland. George S. Clark was born in Paisley, Scotland the second son of thread manufacturer James Clark, and Jane Smith; ...

- shipbuilder *

Samuel Cleland Davidson Sir Samuel Cleland Davidson, KBE (18 November 1846 – 18 August 1921) was a British inventor and engineer. Through his career in the tea import business he invented and patented a number of industrial machines and developed the earliest air c ...

- inventor and founder of Belfast Sirocco Works *

- Former IRA member and

politician; killed as a British spy. * Vere Henry Louis Foster - educationist and philanthropist *

Tom Gallaher Thomas Gallaher (April 1840 – 3 May 1928) was the founder of Gallaher Group, one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Career Born at Templemoyle in Derry and apprenticed to the general merchanting firm of ''Osborne & A ...

- tobacco merchant *

Edward Harland Sir Edward James Harland, 1st Baronet (15 May 1831 – 24 December 1895), was an Ulster-based English shipbuilder and politician. Born in Scarborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy. In 1846, aged 15, h ...

- shipbuilder * James Henderson - Unionist politician, former Lord Mayor of Belfast. *

John Hopkinson John Hopkinson, FRS, (27 July 1849 – 27 August 1898) was a British physicist, electrical engineer, Fellow of the Royal Society and President of the IEE (now the IET) twice in 1890 and 1896. He invented the three-wire ( three-phase) system fo ...

- physicist * Daniel Joseph Jaffe - Built Belfast's first synagogue; father of

, former Lord Mayor of Belfast. * Florence Augusta Lewis - mother of C.S. Lewis * Robert Wilson Lynd - author. * William Henry Lynn - architect *

Thomas Macknight Thomas Macknight (15 February 1829 – 19 November 1899) was an Anglo-Irish newspaper editor, biographer and publisher. He was the originator of the Two Nations Theory in 1896, which argues that the Ulster Protestants are a distinct Irish nati ...

- Political author and

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

. *

Francis Maginn Francis Maginn (1861–1918) was a Church of Ireland missionary who worked to improve living standards for the deaf community by promoting sign language and was one of the co-founders of the British Deaf Association. Early life and education ...

- missionary * Valentine McMaster -

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

(VC) recipient (

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

). * Bernard McQuirt - VC recipient, Indian Mutiny. (Grave in pauper plot unmarked; commemorative headstone at

Donaghcloney Donaghcloney or Donacloney ()County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

). *

Rinty Monaghan John Joseph Monaghan (21 August 1918 – 3 March 1984) was a world flyweight boxing champion from Belfast. He became famous in the post-war period, eventually rising to become undisputed world champion and a hero to many people in his home cit ...

- boxer *

William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC, PC (Ire) (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1924) was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland and Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as L ...

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha Scott played for Lin ...

- football player *

Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to: Entertainment * Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian * Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer * Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...

- politician *

Sam Thompson Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known ...

- playwright * William Whitla - physician and politician

References

External links

*
Belfast City Cemetery
{{Coord, 54, 35, 23, N, 5, 58, 45, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Cemeteries in Belfast Cemetery vandalism and desecration Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Northern Ireland Geography of Belfast Religion in Belfast Burials at Belfast City Cemetery

History

Notable interments

References

Further reading

External links