Roselawn Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Phlásóg na Rós) (also known as Roselawn) is a large cemetery and crematorium on the outskirts of

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, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It opened in 1954. It is owned and operated by Belfast City Council. It is located on the Ballygowan Road.

History

Roselawn Cemetery was laid out in 1952 as a ‘lawn’ cemetery and the ground was formally consecrated in 1954. Roses ( traditional flowering shrubs, used extensively in cemeteries) were planted along the main driveway, giving the site its name. In 1961, the City of Belfast Crematorium, the first of its kind in Ireland, opened its doors, with the first cremation taking place in July 1961. Land has been added over the years, and the site has been landscaped with lakes to make it more appealing to visitors. The surface area has been estimated at a little less than 300 acres, which would make it the largest municipal cemetery in the United Kingdom. The cemetery contains the remains of an ancient ráth or ringfort, which is believed to be from the Iron Age or early Christian period.

Notable interments

It has been estimated that there are between 43.000 and 44.000 memorial plaques. The site contains graves connected to the

Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

, including those of police and prison officers, soldiers and victims of the Abercorn Restaurant,

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

and La Mon House Hotel bombings.The bombings on the Belfast City Council website
/ref> *

Ian Adamson Ian Adamson OBE (28 June 1944 – 9 January 2019) was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and paediatrician, who was the Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1996 to 1997. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfas ...

, Northern Ireland politician *

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

professional football player *

David Ervine David Ervine (21 July 1953 – 8 January 2007) was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2002 to 2007, and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belf ...

, Northern Ireland Unionist politician and leader of the

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...

(PUP). *

Tommy Herron Tommy Herron (1938 – 14 September 1973) was a Northern Irish loyalist and a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) until his death in a fatal shooting. Herron controlled the UDA in East Belfast, one of its two earliest strong ...

. Northern Ireland loyalist * B. J. Hogg, actor *

James Kilfedder Sir James Alexander Kilfedder (16 July 1928 – 20 March 1995), usually known as Sir Jim Kilfedder, was a Northern Irish unionist politician. Early life Jim Kilfedder born in Kinlough, a village in the north of County Leitrim in what was the ...

, Northern Ireland unionist politician * Helen Lewis, Czechoslovakian-born Northern Ireland choreographer and Holocaust survivor ; Cremations *

May Blood, Baroness Blood May Blood, Baroness Blood, (26 May 1938 – 21 October 2022) was a British politician who was a member of the House of Lords, where she was a Labour peer, and the first peeress from Northern Ireland, from 31 July 1999 to 4 September 2018. Bl ...

, British politician *

Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, (9 June 1888 – 18 August 1973), styled Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Baronet between 1907 and 1952, was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and paramilitary leader who became the third Prime Mi ...

, soldier and

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

(UUP) politician, third

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as with governo ...

. The ashes were scattered on his estate.

References

External links

*
Booklet by Belfast City Council about the cemeteries in and around Belfast
Cemeteries in Belfast Cemeteries in Northern Ireland Geography of Belfast {{Belfast-geo-stub