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Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Visit to Thomas Cookes Grave in Shankill Castle, Paulstown, County Kilkenny













Back on the Halloween weekend just gone, I went away to Dungarvan for a long weekend, we go there quite often to stay at The Clonea Strand Hotel, just outside the town, it’s really nice. on my journey home, which is two hours back to Finglas, I decided to stop after one hour, where did I end up but Paulstown in county Kilkenny, coincidentally, because 1) it is exactly half way from dungarvan to my house, and 2) I was told that there was an important family history grave for me here! I had a conversation some time ago with a fellow genealogist by the name of Kieron Cooke, whom I have mentioned a few times in this blog now, he had said to me that there was a grave in Shakill house in Paulstown that has a cooke grave that is related to the Painstown Cookes/Cokes, and this could possibly be a step toward the Kilmacow Cookes(genealogically) Paulstown is a place that I have been familiar with in the past, it was always a stop off town on the way down to Waterford, before they built the big motorway that bypassed it, so now it is just a sleepy little village.

 Shankill Castle in Paulstown is a stately home on demesne grounds. When we arrived in Paulstown this time with Anne, my wife, we went through the majestic gates, and pulled up to the big house, the staff were so helpful, and pointed us in the direction of the graveyard.

I didn't disturb the grave, it had a lot of moss on it, and it was wet too, so I can only show the grave, but the writing is not too clear. It reads:

Erected by Michael Cooke in the memory of his father Thomas Cooke, late of Kellymount, died 16 December 1801, age 70 years.

There is more on it but I couldn't read it from the snaps I'd taken, but i pass quite regularly through this area, or maybe someone can enlighten me?
On the back under the eye it reads:

 Headstone carved by John Brennan, stone-cutter, Royal Oak
Stand here my friends wipe off your tears
Here we must lie until Christ appears
And when he comes we hope to rise
Unto that life that never dies

It also surprised me that it was made of lime or sandstone and very sturdy and ornate, on the front of the grave appeared to be a shining sun carved into the sun, on the back of it was an eyeball sculpted, looking out, I’d never seen it before, also something else written underneath that, some kind of verse, but I couldn't make it out. Apparently the eyeball and sunrise thing indicates some kind of masonic symbolism, from the little research I have done online, the sun is a setting sun, signifying the end of life, the eye is 'the all seeing eye' or 'the eye of providence' signifying god and his almighty power and judgement, that possibly because of Thomas's dedication to god and freemasonry that he will pass on peacefully to paradise?

Unfortunately it was late in the afternoon on a dark damp day in a rather woody area, so not to successful with the reading, maybe someone can enlighten me of the verse on the back, I will put it up if I get it.

For the location of this grave, and help in finding it when I got there, I would like to thank the following:

Kieran Cooke, up in Dunmore, Galway
The staff at shankill house


4 comments:

  1. Hi there, I was wondering if I could ask you some more questions about this post by email? info@shankillcastle.com Thanks so much, Sybil Cope (of Shankill).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sybil, Certainly, please contact me via my email, found in my profile on Blogger.
      Pete

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  2. Hello. I found this blog very interesting. Our family name is cooke. My dad was thomas cooke who passed away recently. His father was michael cooke and his granfather john cooke who lived in stephenstown near two mile house kildare. I am trying to research the link between us and was told before we could be decendents from cookes oftl the cavaliers. I also was aware of the grave in painstown. Thomas cooke. All the names mentioned on that gravestown. And michael william and john are all common names used among my relations. I would love to get a link. I did come accriss a william vooke who married a mary in a placd not far ftom stfphenstown think it was athy and i did at one stage think this could be my great great grsnparents but have to still prove this. The research im doing seems to be reaching in the direction of carlow. And i do think that the cooke family in painstown have the exsct ssme ndmes john willism and thomas that csn be found right through my fsmily. My email is velizabethc1@hotmail.com if u wish to contact me with some ingogmation to back up my research. Thank you.. vanessa cooke

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello. I found this blog very interesting. Our family name is cooke. My dad was thomas cooke who passed away recently. His father was michael cooke and his granfather john cooke who lived in stephenstown near two mile house kildare. I am trying to research the link between us and was told before we could be decendents from cookes oftl the cavaliers. I also was aware of the grave in painstown. Thomas cooke. All the names mentioned on that gravestown. And michael william and john are all common names used among my relations. I would love to get a link. I did come accriss a william vooke who married a mary in a placd not far ftom stfphenstown think it was athy and i did at one stage think this could be my great great grsnparents but have to still prove this. The research im doing seems to be reaching in the direction of carlow. And i do think that the cooke family in painstown have the exsct ssme ndmes john willism and thomas that csn be found right through my fsmily. My email is velizabethc1@hotmail.com if u wish to contact me with some ingogmation to back up my research. Thank you.. vanessa cooke

    ReplyDelete