Introduction
Bohermore cemetery in Galway city, or the ‘new cemetery’ as it is called was opened in 1880. The cemetery contains two mortuary chapels – the western chapel was reserved for Catholic usage and the eastern one for Protestant use - and a caretaker’s lodge close to the entrance gates.
Magdalen Laundry related burials are found in three groups comprising seventeen different headstones and containing eighty names and associated burial dates. Similar to Forster St. the Magdalen related grave monuments, headstones and kerbs, were erected in the last decade."
Bohermore cemetery is located in the extensive townland of Townparks (St. Nicholas' Parish) and besides being the final resting place for a number of women who had worked in the Magdalen Laundry the cemetery was also used as an escape route for a number of women who managed to climb over the north boundary wall of the Convent & Laundry buildings in Forster St., 500m to the southwest. We do not know how many women who had worked in the Magdalen Laundry are buried in Bohermore. We do know though the women who were buried in Magdalen laundry related graves in the pauper's section (south east quadrant) of the cemetery and these are the headstones that are presented here.
The burial dates on the headstones do not always match the dates of death on the women's death certificates. Normally these are only out by a day or two but in a few cases the gap is greater. Also a number of the women's names vary between the headstones and the burial register/death certificates and we have done our best to correlate the names with the available registers.
These headstones were recorded as part of a project supported by COPE Galway to remember the women of the Magdalen Laundries in Galway. The first laundry was situated off Lombard St. until it was moved to Forster St in approx. 1870. There are two burial grounds in the Forster St. Laundry one of which was for women who worked in the laundry and it has been published https://historicgraves.com/graveyard/magdalen-laundry-forster-st-galway/....
Headstone 1
In Loving Memory of
TERESA JONES 17-4-1922
MARGARET JOYCE 20-5-1922
SARAH DUFFY 1-10-1922
LOUISA DEVANEY 7-11-1922
ALICE PIERCE 10-2-1924
Rest in Peace
Headstone 2
In Loving Memory of
MARGARET NALLY 13-1-1921
ELIZABETH FLANAGAN 21-1-1921
MARY WALSH 7-2-1921
ELLEN CLOONAN 29-10-1921
Rest in Peace
Headstone 3
In Loving Memory of
MARGARET COMMINS 12-8-1919
BRIDGET SULLIVAN 6-2-1920
MARY SMITHWICK 22-10-1920
CECILIA KEANE 31-12-1920
BRIDGET O’DOWD 17-1-1950
Rest in Peace
Headstone 4
In Loving Memory of
ELIZA CONLON 5-3-1919
MARGARET STREET 10-3-1919
MARGARET D’ARCY 11-3-1919
BRIDGET McDonnell 15-3-1919
BRIDGET FINAN 8-4-1919
Rest in Peace
Headstone 5
In Loving Memory of
MARGARET WATSON 8-6-1915
CATHERINE CAULFIELD 14-7-1915
MARY MASON 13-9-1915
JANE BEAKEY 21-4-1918
MARY HALLORAN 14-10-1918
ANNIE KENNEDY 3-3-1919
Rest in Peace
Headstone 6
In Loving Memory of
MARY CAFFREY 14-1-1909
ANNE LOUGHLIN 30-9-1910
KATE BRENNAN 11-7-1911
MARY COLLERAN 16-11-1911
KATE WALSH 31-10-1914
Rest in Peace
Headstone 7
In Loving Memory of
MARY WARD 23-5-1894
BRIDGET BURKE 5-8-1901
KATE McCARTHY 27-9-1903
ELLEN SHERIDAN 8-2-1904
MARY FLYNN 17-1-1905
MARY ELLEN GIBBONS 11-3-1905
Rest in Peace
Headstone 8
In Loving Memory of
ELEN THOMPSON 22-2-1913
MARY WHELAN 4-7-1913
ROSE ANNE NIXON 21-5-1914
Rest in Peace
Headstone 9
In Loving Memory of
MARY EGAN 22-10-1975.
KATHLEEN HENEGHAN
6-12-1998.
KATHLEEN MURPHY 21-1-1999.
ANNE LYNCH 7-7-1999.
MARY REIDY 27-12-2006
MARGARET O’REILLY 15-3-2007
BRIDGET CONNEELY 30-1-2013
R.I.P.
Headstone 10
In Loving Memory of
MARY NOLAN DIED 13-1-1976
JOSEPHINE KILMARTIN DIED 25-1-1979
MARY REGAN DIED 7-3-1981
ROSE RYAN DIED 11-6-1986
BRIDGET QUINN DIED 9-11-1987
DELIA MULRYAN DIED 28-3-1989
RITA LYDON DIED 31-5-1989
BRIDGET HUSSEY DIED 13-2-1990
MARY FLEMING DIED 6-9-1990
MARY JACKSON DIED 26-2-1995
MAUD McLOUGHLIN DIED 13-5-1995
R.I.P.
Headstone 11
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
AGNES KEEGAN 20/10/1973
MARY O’BRIEN 22/4/1974
FRANCES COMBERFORD 11/2/1975
REST IN PEACE
Headstone 12
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MARY Mc Guinn
Died 14 May 1980
HER MOTHER MARY
DIED 5 NOV. 1955
R.I.P.
Headstone 13
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
BRIDGET MULLALLY 5/8/1965
ANNIE HOULIHAN 16/9/1965
BRIDGET FOLEY 30/11/1967
JOSEPHINE FLYNN 9/1/1968
MARGARET O’HARA 10/1/1968
MARY McDONNELL 6/11/1969
REST IN PEACE
Headstone 14
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
BRIDGET FLYNN 6/11/1957
MARY ANN HOEY 19/2/1958
CHRISTINA HOULIHAN 17/1/1959
KATE LYDON 15/6/1959
MARY KELLY 12/8/1961
REST IN PEACE
Headstone 15
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
KATE KENNEDY 11/8/1945
KATE CALLANAN 39/7/1946
MARY CUNNINGHAM 30/11/1946
JULIA SHIELS 4/10/1950
MARY RONALDSON 12/12/1950
MARY COMMINS 7/8/1962
REST IN PEACE
Headstone 16
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MARY GIBLIN 19/1/1938
ELLEN HARRINGTON 5/6/1962
REST IN PEACE
Headstone 17
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MARGARET DONOVAN 17/4/1924
MARY FOLEY 16/9/1924
BRIDGET McSHERRY 1/8/1925
BRIDGET WALSH 3/2/1928
MARY KILGANNON 6/8/1933
ANNIE DUNNE 24/5/1962
MARY MULKERRINS 20/3/1971
REST IN PEACE