Headstone Photos (indexed)

from Graveyards around Ballycastle, Co. Mayo
Family History in Ballycastle

County Mayo, Ireland

Golden & Langan & more...
       Key to Graveyards

BC     Ballycastle
BD     Belderig
DF      Doonfeeny
KB     Kilbride
KF      Kilfian, old & new
LKN   Lacken, new
LKO   Lacken, old
MGN  Moygawnagh, new
MGO  Moygawnagh, old
RF      Rathfran
SJ     St John's
Updated
Dec '09
Location of the graveyards catalogued to date
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Copyright C. M. Golden 2009

Copyright notice: You are welcome to download any information or images from this website for personal use.  Private individuals and non-profit organizations are welcome to re-publish any images and information from this website provided due acknowledgement to the author is given where appropriate; e.g. "Reproduced courtesy of C. M. Golden, www.GoldenLangan.com".  Commercial organizations may not publish or reproduce information or images from this website without written permission from the author.  Anyone is welcome to link to pages on this website. 
While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of the information presented, no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions.










The photos are grouped by the graveyard, and indexed in alphabetical order by the main family name on the headstone.  Where there is more than one family name on the headstone, a second copy of the photo is usually listed under the other family name(s). 

You can click on any name to open a photo of that headstone.  To return to the main list, use the Arrow button at the top left of your Browser window.  To maintain fast download times, the photos are low resolution, but original high resolution (7MP) copies are available on request.  Please report any errors, etc. to Chris@GoldenLangan.com.

Ballycastle Cemetery  (350+)
   north side of Ballycastle, Co. Mayo

Belderrig Cemetery  (100+)
   8 miles west of Ballycastle

Doonfeeny Graveyard  (250+)
   2 miles north-west of Ballycastle

Kilbride Graveyard  (39)
   2 miles north-east of Ballycastle

Kilfian Cemetery (new), (150+)
   7 miles south of Ballycastle

Kilfian Cemetery (old), (170+)
   7 miles south of Ballycastle

Lacken Cemetery (new)  (150+)
   5 miles east of Ballycastle

Lacken Graveyard (old), (80+)
   5 miles east of Ballycastle

Mowgawnagh Cemetery (new), (96)
   8 miles south of Ballycastle

Mowgawnagh Graveyard (old), (250+)
   8 miles south of Ballycastle

Rathfran Graveyard, (470+)
   6 miles east of Ballycastle

St John's Church (C of I) Graveyard  (26)
   on Ballycastle High Street



Tip for reading and deciphering weathered headstones
Take a water spray bottle with you.  Thoroughly soak the area of the engraving by spraying with water,
then photograph it from an angle, preferably with the camera pointing up from the side or below. 
The light from the sky reflected off the wet surface reveals the slightest indentations in the stone (see example below).  This approach does not damage the headstone, unlike scrubbing or using chalk.

           Photo of dry headstone                             Same headstone soaked
The links below contain over 2,000 indexed photographs of the legible headstones from 12 graveyards and cemeteries in north-east County Mayo, dating from 1762 to 2009.
There are two main purposes in posting these photos.  The first is to help preserve the memory of ancestors, families and friends, particularly for the benefit of those who live too far away to visit. 
The second purpose is as a resource to others researching their own family history.  The headstones can provide useful information and family connections that are not available from other sources.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer on a
'stake-out' in Doonfeeny Graveyard