Knockmoylan Graveyard, Parish of Ballyhale, county Kilkenny

Knockmoylan, in the catholic parish of Ballyhale, lies on the old Kilkenny to Waterford Road midway between Ballyhale itself and Mullinavat.  This is strong Walsh territory edging as it does on to the area known as the Walsh Mountains. At one time the entire townland of Knockmoylan belonged to the Walsh family.   The church at the centre of this well maintained graveyard was built in 1812 and is known as All Saints Catholic Church. The graveyard is still in use.   Despite the 1812 date for the church the earliest memorials in the graveyard date from 1832 and 1833; there are 7 memorials dating from the 1840s and another 7 dating from the 1850s.

There is evidence of very fine stone engraving and carving dating from this early period.  In all there were 84 memorials, or memorial plots, in the graveyard which was surveyed in 2010.   Knockmoylan can be spelt as Knockmoilan and Knockmoyland.  The spelling of place names on the memorials can be very inconsistent such as Crobally, Crolybally and Crowbally  And as per as usual here in Kilkenny there is at least one stone, erected by an exile in a foreign land, as a memorial to parents and family at the traditional family burial place.  Also evidence of the useful practice (for family historians) of recording on a headstone those members of the family who have died overseas.

Table top tomb erected by Mr Richard Aylward of Knockmoyland to his son Rev. Patrick Aylward who died in 1859 aged 24 years.  

Index of names
Aylward, Anderson, Bowe, Brenen, Cain, Cantwell, Cashin, Cass, Cassin, Coady, Collins, Dalton, Darmody, Darmedy, Dermody, Dempsey, Doherty, Doody, Doyle, Dunphy, Drennan, Dywer, Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, Fleming, Grannan, Grant, Hanrahan, Healy, Hogan, Holden, Holehan, Holohan, Hurley, Jones, Kearns, Kelly, Kenneally, Lawlor, Mackey, Madden, Maher, Malone, Mason, McBride, McCarthy, McDonald, McGrath, Moloney, Morrisey, Morton, Murphy, O'Brien, O'Dwyer, O'Neill, O'Shea, O'Sullivan, Phelan ,Power,  Raftice, Reade, Reid, Reilly, Rocket, Ryan, Sullivan, Walsh, Walshe, Wemyss, Whelan.
Index of places mentioned on the memorials
America, Australia, Ballinabola, Ballybray, Ballybrushen, Ballytarsna, Ballytarsney, Barnsley, Brighton. California, Castlebanny, Castlegannon, Chicago, Clanassy, Cooleraheen, Coolmean, Coolmeen, Coolroemore, Cor......(illegible), Cottierstown, Cotterstown, Crobally, Crolybally, Cross Gates, Crowbally, Derrylackey, Dunboyne Establishment, Glendonnell, Gorrue, Kilcready,  Kilkeasy, Kilkenny, Kilkenny county, Kill, Kiltorcan, Knockmore, Knockmoylan, Knockmoyland, Knocktopher, Legan, Liverpool, Lukeswell, Maynooth, Mullinakill, Mullinavat, Newchapel, New Zealand, Rosboultra, Sacremento, St Kyran's College, South Australia, Sussex, Thomas St, Thomastown, USA, Waterford, Waterford city, Waterford county, Yorkshire.
Index of Stonemasons
Being so near Waterford city it is not surprising that some people erecting memorials have looked towards Waterford rather than Kilkenny for their stonemasons.  These Waterford masons  are:-  Flynn of Waterford,   Patk Kenny of New Street, Waterford,   O'Donnell,  Phillip St, Waterford,   O'Keeffe and Sons, Michael Street, Waterford. Other masons are Molloy, Molloy of Callan and  O'Shea of Castlebanny. 
Knockmoylan graveyard has several examples of older upright stones with what might be described as small "supporter" stones immediately to the left and right of the main stone.  These side "supporter" stones are usually just carved with a cross and the initials of the erector of the main headstone.  It is reminiscent of "supporters" used either side of a heraldic device.  This style of "supporters" to the main memorial seems to become popular in the 1840s and does not survive much beyond the 1850s and is evident elsewhere around the area in catholic graveyards such as at Hugginstown;  it does not seem to be practiced by those of the Protestant faith.   Having such "supporters" would have added expense to the erection of the main headstone.    No 39 on our list "Erected by John Fleming of Ballybrushen in loving memory of his beloved wife Elizabeth Fleming alias Phelan who depd (departed) this life Aug 25th 1842 aged 45 years" has just such "supporters" to the left and right of the main stone and marked simply  "JF".

No 30 on our list above, a beautiful old and lichen encrusted stone "Erected by the Widow Aylward of Lukeswell in memory of her husband John Aylward who departed this life December 17th 1849 aged 71 years". Her sons Thomas Aylward and Edmond Aylward are also mentioned on the stone but there are two "supporters" on either side of the headstone simply marked WA (standing for Widow Aylward).    This is a rare example of a woman erecting "supporters" as usually we have found they are erected by a man.    Such "supporters"  which have become separated from their main headstone, for example during a burial when things get moved around,  can confuse people into thinking they are independent headstones but this is unlikely to be the case.
Another such headstone with "supporters"on either side simply marked on each supporter JM, is No 5 on our list which reads "Erected by James Murphy of the city of Waterford in memory of his father John Murphy of Ballinabola who departed this life 25th June 1841 aged 60 years".

There is one First World War memorial which is in the burial plot of the Ryans of Castlegannon (No 29).  This is to 160891 Sapper P Ryan, Royal Engineers, who died 6th November 1918.