Survey Data
Reg No
50130072
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social
Original Use
Grave monument
In Use As
Grave monument
Date
1881 - 1881
Coordinates
314726, 237132
Date Recorded
12/06/2018
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding High Gothic funerary monument, dated 1881, comprising white marble sarcophagus on stepped limestone plinth over granite base, with canopy roof above. Canopy is pitched limestone with cruciform pole-moulded ridge having carved cross final with marble hub; gable ends have cusped pointed arches, those to 'transepts' having marble hubs to blind quatrefoils; whole supported on pink granite columns having stiff-leaf capitals and moulded bases. Pole-moulding and Gothic panels with trefoil detail to sides of plinth, with marble studs and cavetto-moulding below. Inscription to sarcophagus reads ''Pray for the repose of the soul of Mr Charles McGauran of Fownes Street. Residence Chelmsford Road, Leeson Park. 5th April 1881 aged 61 years'. Set in Glasnevin Cemetery, south of O'Connell Circle.
Appraisal
A finely detailed funerary monument in the High Gothic style, exhibiting high-quality craftsmanship in limestone and marble, and having particularly delicate incised carving along the canopy base. It is reflective of nineteenth-century taste and craftsmanship and its status is reflected in its prominent location along the main north-south axial path, just south of the O’Connell Circle. It is one of a number of notable monuments of notable architectural quality and craftsmanship within Glasnevin Cemetery. Originally known as Prospect Cemetery, this burial ground was opened in 1832 following a successful campaign by Daniel O'Connell for the establishment of a civic, non-denominational cemetery. It holds the graves and memorials of over one million people, including many notable citizens.