ALTHOUGH the square brick grave of the Gilhooley family is the oldest monument in the Smythesdale Cemetery, it\u2019s set to look better than ever.<\/p>\n
On behalf of the Smythesdale Cemetery Trust, member Dennis Ross and his bricklayer grandson Jayden Ross have made it their work to restore the unique memorial in the non-denominational section of the grounds.<\/p>\n
It is the resting place of Richard and Ellen Gilhooley, and their children, three-year-old Catherine, toddler Peter, and baby Peter William.<\/p>\n
Mr Gilhooley, who died in 1897, was a one-time mayor of Smythesdale and a bricklayer who built the wall surrounding the grave, which dates to 1860; the year his first two children died just one month apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool to be the person called upon to work on this,\u201d Jayden Ross said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a Smythesdale brickie working on another Smythesdale brickie\u2019s work. It\u2019s been a lot of fun, and something different, as I usually work on new builds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a particular bond in the brickwork, so you can tell it\u2019s old. I\u2019m trying to copy what\u2019s already left there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grave\u2019s refurbishment has been funded by donations to the Smythesdale Cemetery Trust, as trustees have not been able to find any descendants of the family.<\/p>\n
It has an original slate headstone which has been restored in kind by a local stonemason, and this will be re-installed soon.<\/p>\n
Dennis Ross said the project is one of both restoration and rebuilding, as some sections are structurally sound, while others have crumbled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re reusing all the original bricks where possible, and with the headstone, I had to dig to find pieces, because the slate had spit off,\u201d he said. \u201cI found most of the letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trust\u2019s secretary Rosemary Angus said the Gilhooleys have the only exposed brick monument in the cemetery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ALTHOUGH the square brick grave of the Gilhooley family is the oldest monument in the Smythesdale Cemetery, it\u2019s set to look better than ever. On behalf of the Smythesdale Cemetery Trust, member Dennis Ross and his bricklayer grandson Jayden Ross have made it their work to restore the unique memorial in the non-denominational section of […]<\/p>\n