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31 July 1887 — Coole Park, Gort, County Galway | |
Sunday. 31st July [1887]. Augusta Gregory drove Mr Doyle into his R.C. church at Gort. I went in the brougham with Miss Persse & little Robert Gregory & we met Augusta at church– A very long service. The soldiers in their red coats brightened up the bare little church & some sang in the choir. Archdeacon Daly was the parson; he preached extempore well & short. After lunch Sir Wm took us & Mr Doyle to Killmacduagh or the 7 churches founded by St Colman. The ruins of the 7 churches are very well preserved & the leaning round tower has been restored by the office of works. Killmacduagh is still a favorite & most holy R.C. burying place but the grave yard is kept in a most untidy state—owing to the constant burials the same ground is often used & there are fragments of human bones & wooden coffins lying about in all directions. In fact it is horrifying to those who are used to decent burying grounds in England. One of the ruined churches is used as a vault by the Taylor family of Castle Taylor & one can see thro’ a small window into the vault, the coffins by standing on a small heap of stones. One wonders that the window should not be properly closed from public curiosity. This Taylor family is the only Protestant one which is allowed to be buried in this holy spot. Augusta’s brother Mr Algernon Persse & his bride (née Gough) came over to luncheon. On our way back from the 7 churches we stopped at a small cottage in a wood where we had tea. | |
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