24
kilkennyobserver.ie
The Kilkenny Observer Friday 28 January 2022
Feature
Templemartin graveyard & St. Martin of Tours Fr Willie Purcell Blessing Graves 11th Nov.2021
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY PAT SHORTALL
I
f a history teacher in any county in Ireland other than Kilkenny were to ask, “Where is Templemartin Graveyard?”, how many pupils might raise their hands to respond with the correct answer? The natural conclusion would be to suggest that the percentage would be extremely low. But, should the same question be put to pupils within Kilkenny, a more positive show of hands would surely be expected, perhaps there may even be one or two who would click fingers in eagerness to proclaim publicly whatever knowledge they
had accumulated. Templemartin is approximately three miles from Kilkenny city. The graveyard adjoins the ruins of the ancient monastic church on a site a little over a quarter of an acre in size. Its most prominent feature is the arched Romanesque Doorway, which is still in relatively good condition. Gravestones are scattered haphazardly and randomly throughout. It is impossible to estimate the number of burials that actually took place there, as often, just a wooden cross was the only symbol afforded to mark a grave. These would erode with the passing of time, thus, over the centuries, it is easy to understand how a
little burial space would be forgotten. The remains of a 13th century baptismal font can still seen at the old church The holy well of St. Martin is reputed to lie in what is locally known as Mrs. Quirke’s bog a short distance north of the old church. The last burial took place there in 1991; it was that of local lady, Helena (Lena) Lennon. The first headstone mention of her deceased relatives dates to 1929. Representatives from the local community, with the assistance of Kilkenny Co. Council, regularly complete the necessary tasks for the upkeep of the site. The patron Saint of Templemartin (Thomple – Waurthan) was St.
Martin of Tours, the Roman army officer who became the third Bishop of Tours. St. Martin is famously associated with at least one very generous deed. One day on his journey to battle, he saw a poor man dressed in rags during a period of freezing temperatures. He drew his sword to cut the cloak he was wearing in two and gave
one-half to the suffering man. The following night he had a vision of Jesus, who appeared to him, dressed in the half cloak he had given to the poor man he had encountered the previous day. The feast of St. Martin of Tours occurs on 11th November. Recognising the importance of the Saint and his feast day, fairs and other business
transactions took place at Templemartin crossroads on the 10th and the 23rd of November each year until about 1860. Leafing through the pages of Volume 3 of Canon William Carrigan’s, History and Antiquities of Ossory is probably the best place to commence research on the area. Here the Canon informs the reader that, “The
