Goldenbridge Cemetery in Dublin's Inchicore is a nice place to visit. Much smaller in scale than the famed Glasnevin Cemetery on the northside, it was opened in October 1829 just after Catholic Emancipation was achieved in Ireland. Sometimes referred to as the first Catholic cemetery to be opened in Ireland since the Reformation, it is also referred to as Ireland's first non-denominational cemetery. Read my Irish Diary in today's Irish Times newspaper about the history of this cemetery.
On my first visit to the cemetery in May 2026, I was struck by the uniformity of the place. It is not like more modern or larger Irish graveyards where you can find a vast range of gravestones (in terms of size and materials used). It is as if Goldenbridge is somehow frozen in time and has not changed since it was opened in the 19th century. It did close in 1869 but some new burials were allowed after that, including WT Cosgrave (1880-1965) and his son Liam Cosgrave (1920-2017). It is open again to new burials but they must conform to strict criteria laid down by the Dublin Cemeteries Trust (DCT), including a stipulation that no polished stone can be used. The DCT runs Goldenbridge and four other graveyards in Dublin - Glasnevin, Dardistown, Newlands Cross and Palmerstown.
Some of the graves are enclosed by railings and there is some variation in terms of design - there are some gravestones in the form of Celtic Cross or obelisk or column. But a good few resemble the gravestone of the young boy I mentioned in the article that is located just inside the entrance (example below).
The Luas Red Line tram passes the graveyard and you should remember to get off at the Drimnagh stop and not the Goldenbridge one as you might think. Richmond Barracks is close by and also deserves a visit for its rich history as a former military barracks and later as a school. The leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were court-martialed within the walls of the barracks and as this website shows, it has witnessed many historic events in its long life.
