Survey Data
Reg No
50130078
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Grave monument
In Use As
Grave monument
Date
1870 - 1875
Coordinates
314699, 236909
Date Recorded
19/07/2018
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding limestone Celtic cross funerary monument, erected c. 1871 in memory of Very Rev. John Spratt D.D. Plain stepped base, chamfered tapered plinth with raised panels, that to front having inscription and side panels having carved images depicting Temperance Pledge (north), St. Joseph's Night Refuge (south) and Carmelite Church of Whitefriars (east). Undecorated Celtic cross with panels, top in form of house-shaped shrine, central stud to front and rear face of cross ring. Surrounded by decorative cast-iron railing with quatrefoil and cross motifs on cut limestone plinth. Located adjacent to entrance to O'Connell Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Appraisal
A substantial Celtic Cross funerary monument, erected in memory of the Very Rev. John Spratt D.D. (1871), who aged 76 in the forty-ninth year of his priesthood. A lengthy memorial inscription describes the life and achievements of Rev. Spratt, a Provincial of the Carmelite Order in Ireland and advocate of the Temperance movement, who was responsible for establishing the Carmelite Church and male and female schools at Whitefriars in 1826 in addition to a number of charitable institutions including St. Joseph's Night Refuge 'for the homeless and poor', and the Asylum for the Catholic Female Blind. He was also a guardian of St. Peter's Orphanage for 40 years. The monument is rather plainly detailed, with the exception of the plinth, which is carved with representations of the named institutions and Temperance. It is among a number of monuments of considerable quality and historical interest within Glasnevin Cemetery. Originally known as Prospect Cemetery, the burial ground was opened in 1832 as a civic, non-denominational cemetery. It holds the graves and memorials of over one million people, including several notable citizens.