The Conway & Clohessy Tree

On the 29 March 1849 Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery was opened on an 18 acres site on Mulgrave Street to alleviate the overcrowded city graveyards. From 1849 until 1979 the cemetery was run by the Catholic Church and in 1979 it was taken over by Limerick City Council and the day to day running of the Cemetery is by the Environment Department.

Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery was the primary place of burial in Limerick for all strata of society, from the wealthy to those who died in the Lunatic Asylum and Workhouses. The more prominent families tended to be buried along the central path close to the chapel. The 'Poor Squares' were located at the top of the cemetery at the left hand corner and in the bottom right corner.

Burial Records date from March, 1855 and the Burial Register records that over 70,000 individuals have been interred in Mount Saint Lawrence, up to 2009. The oldest individual recorded in the register is Mary Keane of Thomondgate, buried on 24th January, 1880 at the age of 110!

Grave Marker Transcription and Mapping Project
In 2012 a new mapping system was introduced, in this the graveyard was divided into sections and each grave marker was photographed and gps tagged. Soon the Limerick City Archives and Mary Immaculate College Staff and Students began to transcribe the gravemarkers in Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery. In April 2014 the first phase of the Headstone Transcription project was released to the public.

Searching the Grave Marker Database, you will notice two search boxes:
Search All Grave Markers this will search all the photographed grave markers in Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery. Each grave marker photograph contains a family surname and the year of the first death recorded. You will be able to view the location of the grave marker and the grave marker photograph.
Search Transcribed Grave Markers this will search all the transcribed grave markers in Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery to date, April 2014. This contains the full transcription from the grave marker including each individuals name and date of death where recorded. You will also be able to view the location of the grave marker and the grave marker photograph.