A Short History by Ballynacally I.C.A.

Clondegad cemetery is situated in the barony of the islands beside the Owenslieve river. There is evidence in the area to suggest a very early settlement and it was once the focal point of the parish of Clondegad. O’Donovan believed that an earlier church existed on the site of the present protestant ruins which date to 1809. Local folklore tells us that the oldest stone in Clondegad dates to 1686. It is also recorded in ‘Antiquities of County Clare” by John O’Donovan and Eugene O’Curry in 1839 that on a stone inserted in the wall was the following inscription: “Within this burial place lies interred the body of George Ross, Esq., who was the founder thereof. He died on the 19th May 1700, in the 79th year of his age. This monument was erected the same year by his kinsman, Mr. Robert Harrison”. No trace of this stone was found during the recent survey.

Clondagad Church and Graveyard

In all 152 inscriptions are recorded for Clondegad. There are some worthy of note:- the Whitstone Vault, the graves of the Reverend Canon O’Shaughnessy, thirty years P.P. of Clondegad who died in 1846, the slab stone on Tho. Wright who died in 1777 which has interesting carvings including a hammer and anvil and also the grave of John Daly.