Remembering the forgotten: Aglish Graveyard and 160 years of hidden history

In a quiet corner outside Castlebar lies a graveyard that, for generations, went largely unnoticed.

Now, for the first time, the community is being invited to pause, reflect and remember.

On Sunday, April 19 at 3pm, a special remembrance ceremony will take place at Aglish Graveyard—an event that marks a significant step in acknowledging the lives of hundreds of people buried there, many of whom were patients of the former St Mary’s Hospital Castlebar, once known as the Castlebar Lunatic Asylum.

A history long overlooked

For Tony O’Boyle, chairperson of St Mary’s Hospital Castlebar Heritage Society, the project is about more than restoration, it is about recognition.

“Hundreds of people were buried there between 1878 and 1921,” he explains. “What we are trying to do now is commemorate them and acknowledge their place in our history.”

The graveyard reflects a broader national story. Across Ireland, similar burial practices existed in asylum grounds throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries—often leaving those interred without individual markers, and largely absent from public memory.

“It’s not just a Castlebar phenomenon,” O’Boyle notes. “This is something that happened throughout Ireland and beyond.”

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Understanding the past

To understand Aglish Graveyard is to step into a very different Ireland.

The asylum system, introduced during British rule, was shaped by the social and economic realities of the time. Facilities like St Mary’s—opened in the 1860s—were intended as places of refuge, though conditions and care were a far cry from modern mental health services.

“It was a completely different era,” says O’Boyle. “Ireland was just emerging from the famine. There were very limited resources and very little in terms of medical advances. These institutions were largely custodial in nature.”

Historical records show that when a patient died, they were brought by cart to Aglish Graveyard, often accompanied by a nurse and, occasionally, another patient. Many families, due to stigma, poverty or distance, did not reclaim the remains.

The language of the time—terms like “lunatics” or “dangerous idiots”—reflects attitudes that can feel jarring today, but which were part of the institutional framework of the period.

“It’s important that we don’t judge the past solely by today’s standards,” O’Boyle adds. “But we do need to understand it.”

Bringing a hidden place back into view

Until recently, Aglish Graveyard itself remained almost invisible—both physically and historically.

“Ten or twelve years ago, it was completely overgrown,” says O’Boyle. “You wouldn’t even have known it was there.”

That has begun to change.

In partnership with Mayo County Council and the Health Service Executive, significant work has been carried out to restore the site. Volunteers, including the Castlebar Tidy Towns group, helped clear scrubland, while pathways, signage and improved access have transformed the space.

Today, the graveyard is visible from the road—no longer hidden behind trees—and open to visitors.

But for the Heritage Society, the physical transformation is only part of the story.

Restoring dignity

“Restoring dignity is a difficult concept to define,” O’Boyle reflects. “But for us, it means ensuring that those buried there are remembered like anyone else in any other graveyard.”

That includes integrating Aglish into community traditions—such as cemetery blessings—and recognising it as part of Mayo’s wider heritage.

It also means telling the story.

By placing Aglish Graveyard within the broader narrative of Irish social history, the project aims to reconnect people with a past that was, until now, largely overlooked.

A moment of remembrance

The upcoming ceremony marks a milestone in that effort.

It will include an ecumenical service led by Archbishop Neary, alongside contributions from Minister Alan Dillon, historian Brian Donnelly of the National Archives, and Dr Martina McGrath, a former clinical director with deep knowledge of the hospital’s history.

Together, they will offer perspectives spanning faith, policy, history and clinical insight.

“We wanted a balanced programme,” says O’Boyle. “One that reflects all aspects of the story.”

Looking ahead

While the ceremony is a moment of reflection, it is also intended as a starting point.

“What we hope,” says O’Boyle, “is that this will reopen a conversation—about our history, about mental health, and about how we remember people.”

It is a conversation that may not always be easy. The legacy of institutional care in Ireland is complex, and at times uncomfortable.

But by bringing Aglish Graveyard into the light, the hope is that it can foster understanding—and perhaps, in time, help to reduce the stigma that once defined so many lives.

Ultimately, the project is about connection.

“It’s about acknowledging the past,” O’Boyle says, “and making sure those people are not forgotten again.”

The remembrance ceremony takes place at Aglish Graveyard on Sunday, April 19 at 3pm. All are welcome to attend.

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