The parish of Palmerston (Irish: Baile Phámar) has been known by this name since the twelfth century when the lands here were held by the Hospital of St. John the Baptist without Newgate, otherwise known as the Palmer's Hospital, from the name of the founder Ailred the Palmer, or Pilgrim.
As part of the Cemeteries remit of burying the dead as bidden by its founder, Daniel O'Connell, the Cemeteries Committee continuously seek to open other Cemeteries and Crematoria. In 1978, to cater for the population of Dublin’s south side, Palmerstown Cemetery was opened. Palmerstown Cemetery, like all the other Cemeteries established by The Dublin Cemeteries Committee after this time, is a lawn cemetery – consisting of landscaped graves, with all graves accessible by paths.
History
Daniel O'Connell
Prior to the establishment of the Glasnevin Cemetery, Irish Catholics had no cemeteries of their own in which to bury their dead and as the repressive Penal Laws (enforced on the Irish since the 17th century by the British) placed heavy restrictions on the public performance of Catholic services, it had become normal practice for Catholics to conduct a limited version of their own funeral services in Protestant cemeteries. This practice continued until an incident at a funeral held in Dublin provoked public outcry when a Protestant sexton reprimanded a Catholic priest for proceeding to perform a limited version of a funeral mass. The event was the final blow to the humiliation of the Catholic population.
The outcry prompted Daniel O'Connell, champion of Catholic rights, to launch a campaign and prepare a legal opinion proving that there was actually no law passed forbidding praying for a dead Catholic in a graveyard. O'Connell pushed for the opening of a burial ground in which both Irish Catholics and Protestants could give their dead dignified burial.
