Glasnevin - Ireland's National Cemetery

Glasnevin Cemetery is Irelan's biggest cemetery, with over one and a half million burials. It was established in 1832 as a Victorian garden cemetery due to the high need and limited space in Goldenbridge. Glasnevin reopened in 2021.

Historical spot
The cemetery is run by Glasnevin Trust, a charitable body founded by Daniel O'Connell in the early nineteenth century. O'Connell decreed that cemeteries should be for people of "all religions and none." His decision to make the cemetery inclusive has defined Glasnevin's importance as a historical site. The old saying "the more inclusive, the more diverse" perfectly applies to this place in religious terms and every walk of life.

Glasnevin, being a historical place, is a working cemetery. Over two thousand funerals are conducted on-site annually, and the number of individual headstones reaches over 200,000. In early times, it was prohibited to bury stillborn babies in consecrated ground, as they had not been baptised. However, the cemetery allowed it. The first burial here was of Michael Carey, a little boy from Dublin. Glasnevin contains the area where stillborn babies are buried in consecrated ground. The resting place for infants and children is called the Angels Plot. Over 15,000 newborn babies and infants have been buried here since opening in 1968.

Not surprisingly, it is a popular site among tourists and researchers who are curious about the individuals who influenced today's Ireland. These include the graves of Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, and Éamon de Valera. The remains of the Trust founder, Daniel O'Connell, lie in the ornate crypt beneath the O'Connell Tower. There are a lot of memorials for men who served and were buried outside of Ireland. The Memorial to the 'Manchester Martyrs' is a commemoration of prisoners executed in British jails and buried in England. Burials include people who perished during the Great Famine of the 1840s and a successive cholera epidemic.

Therefore, Ireland's National Cemetery is a significant social, cultural, and historical spot.

Financing and arranging details
At first, the main profit came from selling graves and burials. Obviously, the Cemetery territory was limited, and the cash flow decreased as it approached capacity. Therefore, repeat burials seemed the only way to make an income. In addition, this economic model overlooked the fact that the cost of maintaining a cemetery was constantly increasing. A cemetery is not just about graves; one should understand that paths, drains, and buildings must also be taken care of.

As the twenty-first century began, Glasnevin needed help. On the one hand, the Cemetery's oldest part was falling into rack and ruin. On the other hand, it posed a health and safety issue. That was when the Trust ordered a complete survey of the Glasnevin Cemetery. The survey had to include the costs needed for restoration. The idea was simple: to make the cemetery a proper place to commemorate Irish Independence. The Fund promised to maintain the cemetery by following prescribed standards. In addition, they committed to setting up a museum to generate cash flow. As a result, it will secure sustainable maintenance of the cemetery.

The team then applied to build an on-site museum. The project was a considerable departure for the organisation as the work needed to be done on it was enormous. They set up a subcommittee comprised of the CEO acting as a permanent member, one permanent member, and one representative who attended finance meetings assigned by the government. Next, the team hired a firm of consulting engineers. The Heritage Committee met weekly to manage the process of restoring the cemetery.

The Fund appointed a marketing manager and a museum manager for the opening. The team asked for advice from a retail expert to fill the shop with goods. The place received admiting reviews and won several awards from the off, but visitor numbers could have been much higher. In hindsight, we were naive. The team simply needed to understand that marketing and selling required much effort. That's why they brought a marketing expert and introduced specialist tourism consultants. Eventually, they hit the budgets but had much lower targets and much larger advertising spending.

Glasnevin Museum
The museum aims to share the cemetery's story. The interactive exhibition "City of the Dead" illustrates the traditions of funeral culture worldwide and throughout time through film, reconstruction, and interactive units. All the religions and sects of the people buried in Glasnevin are briefly explained. Visitors will learn unusual customs and intriguing tales about life after death.

The top floor is home to a themed exhibition. The state-of-the-art indoor exhibition "Extra-ordinary Lives" explains the surprising stories of more than 20 people. The impressive mix of stories of prominent historical figures and people from the arts, sports, and other fields, along with the brand new design, attracts many visitors of all ages and from all geographic backgrounds.

The Milestone Gallery houses "Timeline," a ten-metre-long digitally interactive table with life details of the 250 most prominent people buried there. The Prospect Gallery is a glass area with a spectacular panorama of the cemetery and information on its funerary monuments and historic graves.

The ground floor houses a reception area. The tourist centre also offers a lovely gift shop. The Tower Café locates next door. The cemetery is open for general and special guided tours or groups from Monday to Sunday. The adult ticket costs €13.

Speciality tours
The museum offers seasonal speciality tours and regular tours. One of the highlights is an International Women's Day Tour, which praises the renowned women of Irelan’s history.

The Dead Interesting Tour invites visitors to listen to the tales of the lesser-known but no less fascinating personalities buried in Glasnevin. It also reveals some of Glasnevin's secrets, including the stories of Francis de Groot and Maria Higgins.

For breathtaking views of the expansive cemetery grounds, Dublin City, Wicklow, and the Irish Sea, climb the O'Connell Tower. At over 55 meters, it is the tallest round tower in Ireland.


The largest cemetery in Ireland, Glasnevin, is a restored Victorian garden cemetery intended to preserve the stories of over a million people. While many of the most celebrated and significant graves represent the Irish Republican movement, the stories of men, women and children of all political and social views are also respected as prescribed by Glasnevin's founding principle of equality.