St. Joseph’s Cemetery is a well kept,veritable Who’s Who of Cork people (especially Catholics) in the mid- 1800s. It was opened in the early 1800s but records only exist for it from 1871. A walk around this cemetery is fascinating for the genealogist. Names which are associated with many of the merchant families of the city appear on obelisk and headstone alike. The inner part of the cemetery is surrounded by a high wall (like a walled garden) and the monument to Fr. Matthew (the man who started the Temperance movement in Cork) is in the centre. The large outer section of the cemetery is cluttered in part with many headstones squeezed into a small area. St. Finbarr’s Cemetery, the other large Cork Cemetry, was opened in 1868, presumably to relieve the stress on St. Joseph’s.

Ronayne Conron tomb and in the background a Gould monument.

On the Cork City Council’s website, it is stated that the Cork City Council manages four Municipal cemeteries:

St. Finbarr’s, Glasheen Road, Cork

Tel: 021-4545997

St. Joseph’s, Tory Top Road, Ballyphehane, Cork

Tel: 021-4320191

St. Catherine’s, Kilcully, Co. Cork

Tel: 021-4300669

St. Michael’s and New, Blackrock, Cork (opened in 1957)

Tel: 021-4357890