Curraghkippane Cemetery or Currykippane Cemetery (), also known as St Mary's Cemetery, is a cemetery in Clogheen in the Kerry Pike area west of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in Ireland. The cemetery site, in use since at least the medieval period, overlooks Carrigrohane and the western part of Cork city, the

River Lee The River Lee (Irish: ''An Laoi'') is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork' ...

valley, and the eastern part of

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at wh ...

. The Curraghkippane name is a

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name ...

, as its meaning used to apply to the entire area on the hill, but was reduced to refer to the cemetery alone. The wider area, including the townland to the east inclusive of the cemetery, has been thereafter referred to as Mount Desert. There are ruins of an old church on the cemetery, of which only the eastern

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

and traces of a

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wale ...

surrounding the structure remain. An ancient church at the site can be traced to 13th century, and it may have been destroyed and reduced to the current ruin as early as 17th century. The first headstones are believed to have been erected in 1730, and among those buried in the graveyard are Edward O'Callaghan, a lieutenant of the British Navy who died in 1808, and

Jerome Collins Jerome Vincent Collins (born August 18, 1982) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. Early years Jerome attended Whe ...

, an arctic explorer and meteorologist from Cork who died in 1881 but was buried only much later in 1884. While most headstones in Curraghkippane, as in many old graveyards, face east, that of Collins with a large

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses e ...

faces North to commemorate his ill-fated expedition to the North Pole. Collins's funeral is believed to be "the longest funeral in history", while anecdotally also the shortest one took place in the same cemetery when a sexton from the little cottage located within the area of the graveyard died and was taken out of the window to be buried just a few meters away. Also buried here is

Gerald Goldberg Gerald Yael Goldberg (12 April 1912 – 31 December 2003) was an Irish lawyer and politician who in 1977 became the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Cork. Goldberg was the son of Lithuanian Jewish refugees; his father was put ashore in Cork with oth ...

, the first Jewish

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork ( ga, Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected ann ...

. Soldiers from the

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, ...

, patients from the old Cork mental hospital, some passengers from the sunken ship Lusitania, and people who donated their bodies to medical research, are also buried here. In 1885, the Cork Jewish Community purchased land adjacent to the old churchyard to consecrate for the Jewish Cemetery, and further expansion occurred in 1949. However, in the 1990s it became clear that the burial site would not be used fully, and the superfluous area was given to Cork County Council for the establishment of St Mary's Cemetery, Curraghkippane.. Due to its location and history, the Curraghkippane graveyard has given inspiration to several songs and poems.

References

{{reflist Cemeteries in County Cork