Nora transforms forgotten Currow graveyard by hand

August 1990

AN old graveyard at Currow which had become completely over grown with trees and briars, making it virtually inaccessible, has been transformed beyond recognition by months of hard work by a 70 year old woman.

Retired nurse Nora Doyle has spent most days since last September in the Old Kileentierna cemetery which had become over grown to the extent that most of the headstones could not be seen.

And those gravestones which managed to surface above the jungle underneath were illegible, covered as they were with moss. Virtually single-handedly, Nora Doyle set about the massive task of restoring the cemetery so that it could once again be visited by relatives of those buried there.

“When I started here, you couldn’t see it from the road, and you couldn’t come in here because of the state it was in. You couldn’t come in here because of the state it was in. You couldn’t read the headstones and they were being knocked by the trees,” she said. The oldest headstone she has discovered dates from 1759.

Most days since September, Nora Doyle has been in the graveyard with her shovel and wheelbarrow, usually alone though on occasion has received assistance from a few local men when the work was too heavy.

“Shes done tremendous work, virtually on her own. The graveyard was almost non- existent and now it has an almost constant flow of visitors,” said local curate Fr. Liam O’Brien. “Nora Doyle has been a Godsend to the parish and we’re very proud of her.”

Thought she does not dwell on the subject, she will be out of pocket when the job is com- pleted. “Everything costs money you know, but I don’t mind doing it and maybe more people will contribute to the cost when they see it finished,” she said.

“Kerry County Council gave me £300 and a few loads of gravel. They’ve been very good, in fairness to them, because they just don’t have the money.” She also ran a duck race to raise funds, which brought in £1,000 and a further £800 was raised in donations.

“I intend kerbing in all the graves, there are about 30 here who have no one left after them. The people burled here worked hard for us and put us where we are today – and their memory should be respected,” she said.

Her goal is to have a special Mass celebrated in the graveyard when the work is finished and she has had an oratory built near the entrance.

“I don’t know how long more it will take me. It’s a lot bigger than you would think.